Re: copyright fraud? Works of the U.S. Government

[Pippa Smart <pippa.smart@googlemail.com>]

Although the constituent items may be in the public domain there 
may be copyright ownership in the compilation, assuming the 
publisher has undertaken intellectual and physical effort to 
bring the parts together and possibly overlaid some additional 
functionality (searching, etc.).

This means that although you may reuse any of the constituent 
parts freely, to reuse the entire collection as presented by the 
publisher requires permission.

This scenario should not be a surprise since many of you will 
subscribe to abstract databases when you could get to each of 
those abstracts freely via the publisher sites.

(I have not read the specific copyright or T&C in question, but 
only the email discussions)

Pippa

*****
Pippa Smart
Research Communication and Publishing Consultant
PSP Consulting
3 Park Lane, Appleton, Oxon OX13 5JT, UK
email: pippa.smart@gmail.com
Web: www.pspconsulting.org
****
Editor of the ALPSP-Alert, Reviews editor of Learned Publishing
****
Editor of Scholarly Communications Report (www.screport.info)


On 30 March 2010 01:43, Klein, Bonnie CIV DTIC B 
<BKlein@dtic.mil> wrote:

> Title 17 USC Sec 105 declares that Works of the U.S. Government,
> defined in Title 17 USC Sec 101 as prepared by Government
> employees or officers on the job, are not copyright protected in
> the U.S.  Foreign copyrights may apply in Berne Convention
> signatory countries that copyright government works such as the
> UK, Canada, Australia, etc.  This clearly sets U.S. Government
> works apart from the common misperception that equates them to
> works in the public domain.
>
> LIMITATIONS OTHER THAN COPYRIGHT ON THE USE OF USG WORKS
>
> Although, United States Government (USG) works prepared by
> officers and employees of the U.S. Government as part of their
> official duties (17 U.S.C. 101) are not protected by copyright in
> the U.S. (17 USC Sec. 105 ), there may be other intellectual
> property and legal limitations governing the terms and conditions
> of their use.
>
> COPYRIGHT CAVEATS
> Privately-created, copyrighted works (e.g. quote, photograph,
> chart, drawing, etc.) incorporated into USG works under license
> or with permission of the copyright owner retain their copyright.
>
> Similarly, contractors and grantees are not considered Government
> employees; generally they hold copyright to works they produce
> for the Government. The Government is granted a worldwide license
> to use, modify, reproduce, release, perform, display or disclose
> these works by or on behalf of the Government; the USG license is
> not always transferrable to the general public. Uses,
> transmission or reproduction of these protected items beyond that
> allowed by fair use http://www.copyright.gov/fls/fl102.html or
> other limitations on exclusive rights (secs. 102-122
> http://www.copyright.gov/title17/92chap1.html )may require
> permission of the copyright owners.
>
> Also note that the 17 USC Sec 105 allows the USG to acquire and
> retain copyrights transferred to it. See "Copyright Alert: Even
> U.S. Government Information May be Protected by Copyright"
> http://www.infotoday.com/searcher/apr09/Klein.shtml published in
> Searcher, April 2009 issue.
>
> OTHER TERMS AND CONDITIONS
>
> PRIVACY AND PUBLICITY RIGHTS
> Privacy and publicity rights are separate and distinct interests
> from copyrights. Copyright protects the copyright holder's
> property rights in the work. Privacy and publicity rights protect
> the interests of the person(s) who may be the subject(s) of the
> work. Privacy and publicity rights are the subject of state laws
> which vary in what is permitted. Also note that related causes of
> action may be pursued under the federal Lanham Act, 15 U.S.C.
> Sec. 1125 (a), for example, for unauthorized uses of a person's
> identity in order to create a false endorsement.
>
> If a recognizable person appears in a photograph or video
> recording, or the talent (such as a performance or narration) of
> a known individual is included in an audio or video recording,
> use for commercial purposes may infringe on a right of privacy or
> publicity. Permission should be obtained from the recognizable
> person or known individual or the estate of the known individual,
> if deceased. However, if the intended use is primarily for
> educational or informational purposes, e.g., books, newspapers,
> and magazines reporting facts of historical significance, then
> such uses will generally not be considered an infringement of
> personal rights.
>
> OFFICIAL USG SEALS, EMBLEMS, INSIGNIA, NAMES AND TRADEMARKS
> 18 United States Code, Sec.709, prohibits the intentional
> unauthorized use of USG emblems, insignia, names and trademarks
> to create a misleading impression of affiliation or endorsement
> by the Federal Government.
>
> A trademark is a word, phrase, symbol or design, or a combination
> of words, phrases, symbols or designs, that identifies and
> distinguishes the source of the goods of one party from those of
> others. A service mark is the same as a trademark, except that it
> identifies and distinguishes the source of a service rather than
> a product.
>
> See "Use of Government Personnel Uniform and Insignia in
> Promotional or Advertising Materials" by L. Victorino and K.
> Szeliga at
> http://www.governmentcontractslawblog.com/2009/05/articles/intellectual-.
> ..