Re: US Govt Licensing (was licensing)

That's pretty much the same answer I got from our lawyer.  Any work by
the US government that has been released to the public is public
domain.  I didn't know about the assignment of copyright but it wouldn't
help me any.

Jan


On Tue, 2003-10-28 at 11:02, Tom Adelstein wrote:
> This may be a stale subject by now, but it came up at OSSI in 
> relationship to work we're doing with Government members.
> 
> The following information came from an email I found while researching 
> the subject. Jan, you may want to comment on it.
> 
> 
> Newsgroups: comp.lang.tcl
> Date: 2002-06-21 13:50:38 PST
> 
> > The Federal Government is explicitly forbidden from Copyrighting
> > anything they create (they are, however, allowed to have a Copyright
> > assigned to them).
> > 
> >   http://www4.law.cornell.edu/uscode/17/105.html
> > 
> > I asked our lawyers about whether or not I would be able to release
> > programs that I've written and if I could release them under the GPL.
> > Below is our lawyers response.
> > 
> > 
> > Subject: Federal Copyright & the GPL
> > To: Thomas.C.Allard
> > From: bryan.a.bonner
> > 
> > 
> > Tom,
> > 
> > [...]  You asked:
> > 
> >      I would like to release some of the software libraries that I've
> >      developed at the Board on my own private web site, and I would prefer
> >      to use the GNU Public License.
> > 
> >      Since this software was developed at and for the Board, am I allowed
> >      to release under the GPL (which is, in essence, a copyright license)?
> > 
> > Tom the software you developed is government property.  As you know,
> > 17 U.S.C. 105 states copyright protection is not available for any work of
> > the United States Government.  Since the GNU Public License requires
> > copyrighting the software as a means to obtain the license, you would not
> > be able to put the software libraries on you private web site under the GNU
> > Public License.
> > 
> > You also asked:
> > 
> >      More specifically, do I as the developer hold a copyright on my
> >      software or is it public domain as it was developed by the 
> >      Federal Government?
> > 
> >      If I can't release it under the GPL, can I still post it on my web
> >      site as public domain software?
> > 
> > Since the software was developed for the Board on official time as part of
> > your official duties, the software is not "copyrightable" by anyone.  It
> > exists in the public domain.
> > 
> > Yes.  You can still post the software libraries on your private web site as
> > public domain software.  However, there are a few things to keep in mind:
> > 
> >      a)  You cannot post any Board confidential information on your private
> > web site.  The software libraries can    contain no confidential material,
> > but only material available to the general public.  [...]
> > 
> >      b)  Should you or others visitors to your site wish to use the
> > software you developed for the Board, or any portion thereof, in their
> > own software program, if the new software program (which integrates U.S.
> > Government software) is ever copyrighted, it should include a
> > publication notice indicating which portions of the program belong to the
> > United States Government.  According to the United States Copyright Office
> > (http://www.loc.gov/copyright):
> > 
> >      "Works by the U. S. Government are not eligible for U. S. copyright
> > protection. For works published on and after March 1, 1989, the previous
> > notice requirement for works consisting primarily of one or more U. S.
> > Government works has been  eliminated. However, use of a notice on such
> > a work will defeat a claim of innocent infringement as previously described
> > provided the notice also includes a statement that identifies either
> > those portions of the work in which copyright is claimed or those
> > portions that constitute U. S. Government material.
> > 
> >      "Example: © 2000 Jane Brown. Copyright claimed in Chapters 7-10,
> > exclusive of U. S. Government maps
> > 
> >      "Copies of works published before March 1, 1989, that consist
> > primarily of one or more works of the U. S. Government should have a
> > notice and the identifying statement."
> > 
> > Any new programs incorporating U.S. Government software should contain
> > a similar notice and identifying statement.
> > 
> > Feel free to post this answer on your personal web site.  [...]
> > 
> > Bryan
> > 
> > 
> > ---
> > rgds-- TA  ([email protected])
> > Disclaimer: I don't speak for the Federal Reserve Board.
> 
-- 

********************************
Jan C. Depner
Code N43T
Naval Oceanographic Office
1002 Balch Blvd
Stennis Space Center MS, 39522
228.688.5609
********************************

I'm a programmer with a soldering iron, and I'm not afraid to use it.