Giving credit for gov. information...

[Lyte]

Howdy!

If I give credit (site, chapter/verse) can I use, word for word, consumer information from a gov. page on my site?? For example...

http://www.ftc.gov/bcp/conline/pubs/credit/crdright.htm

Do y'all think I can just do a cut 'n' paste if I give credit, link, etc... as to where the information came from??

Thanks!

Lyte

 

[primacomputer]

When in doubt you should ask the person/organisation who produced the work. Generally work created by employees of the federal government as a part of their job is in the public domain. You do need to give credit. I'd also post a link to the original page so that people can verify it.

 

[jberryhill]

There is no copyright in U.S. Government works.

17 U.S.C. 105:

§ 105. Subject matter of copyright: United States Government works

Copyright protection under this title is not available for any work of the United States Government, but the United States Government is not precluded from receiving and holding copyrights transferred to it by assignment, bequest, or otherwise.

 

[theparrot]

True there is no copyright on the work if produced by employess, however if it was produced by a contractor, the copyright can then be assigned back to the government and the work be copyrighted.

That part is what makes it hard to determine if what is on a web site can be used freely or not.

 

[Lyte]

Thanks guys!

Maybe I'll post that too (17 U.S.C. 105) and hope for the best! :hehe:

Thanks again!

Lyte

 

[jberryhill]

if it was produced by a contractor

Good point.

 

[painperdu]

The best policy would be to write and ask for clarification from the agency that publishes the work/s you wish to use. In general, though, any works produced by the federal government is in the Public Domain and and can be used freely.

I once wrote The US Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) for such a clarification on the use of works they produced. I was told that I may re-publish anything off of their website provided that I did not charge for others to access this information. I wasn't told that a link-back was necessary or even a citation but I was told that I couldn't alter the works and attribute this change to the agency -common sense.

I guess simple journalistic protocol should suffice when using public domain government works.

Also, as someone above pointed out, there are some works that the government contracts out that may not be in the public domain.

 

[theparrot]

I have written to the state departement about some works, and never got any reply back. I have found that it seems many government employees do not like the fact that what they produce is in the public domain. I have also seen attempts by the government to claim that they have an international copyright and that it is only in the public domain in the USA.

 

[primacomputer]

Just take some good advice and ask. Federal government websites sometimes contain some content that is not in the public domain. Many documents produced by the federal government include copyrighted content into a work that would otherwise be public domain.

Odds are you would never run into trouble for using something distributed by the federal government that was not in the public domain. But if you did the “some guy on a website said I could” defence won't hold water.

 

[WuLabsWuTecH]

well laws aren't copyrighted and i'm sure even if you didn't sit what part of the U.S.C. it came from uncle sam would not sue you for promoting the law!!!

 

[theparrot]

well laws aren't copyrighted and i'm sure even if you didn't sit what part of the U.S.C. it came from uncle sam would not sue you for promoting the law!!!

you would think not wouldn't you. There have been cases of people getting sued for putting laws online though. It was some city codes, apparently there are some companies that sell template laws that local governments then use. In this case someone made a site to put the local laws online and got sued. Something is just wrong with this to me.... someone seems in the wrong here, either the company for selling something for this use with these restricticion, or the local governements for having laws that are not allowed ot be published in effect!

 

[WuLabsWuTecH]

well, i don't think that you could sell the laws... that's wuite an interesting term though ---
Law for sale!!!

 

[Lyte]

well, i don't think that you could sell the laws... that's wuite an interesting term though --- Law for sale!!!

I think that's what gets people in trouble... when they start selling what is intended as FREE information! That, I won't do! :lol:

 

[primacomputer]

Copyright can be a complicated issue. That's why it's important to read the letter of the law(s) that apply to your situation and try to make the most sense of it. In the case of the FTC, this is a federal government organisation so you can start there.

There is nothing to stop a city or organisation from copyrighting their ordinances, bylaws, whatever. I'm sure it happens all the time. Even better, there was a big stink here in HK a few years back when it turned out it was a crime to distribute copies of our constitution!

As for selling something that was intended to be free, this happens all the time. Case in point being “Free as in beer” As for selling the law, this happens all the time. It's necessary and is a good thing. How are people supposed to learn about the law? All pile into one library and share a single book? No, copies must be made and distributed, scanned, indexed and burned on to CD. All this, like the production of beer, costs money which someone has to pay.

 

[Lyte]

As for selling something that was intended to be free, this happens all the time.

I'm sure you're right. I do remember (okay, vaguely) someone getting sued by the government for selling gov. information. Maybe they sold it as "their own," suggesting they created the information. In truth, I don't recall the details but I do recall someone ending in the dog house!

I'm going to make it simple! I'm just gonna say something like... "the following information came from/was compiled from..." and then give the government agency name and link! And since I'm not selling the info, that should cover me! :blink:


Lyte