Protecting government works: the copyright issue - Tutorial

Acquisition Review Quarterly, Wntr, 2002 by Paul C. Manz, Michael J. Zelenka, Raymond S. Wittig, Sally A. Smith

"The prohibition on copyright protection for United States Government works is not intended to have any effect on protection of these works abroad. Works of the governments of most other countries are copyrighted. There are no valid policy reasons for denying such protection to United States Government works in foreign countries, or for precluding the Government from making licenses for the use of its works abroad." (33)

Every country has different copyright laws. For work to be eligible for copyright protection in the United States, it must qualify under the laws and requirements of the United States (i.e., under the Copyright Act). For a work to be eligible in a foreign country for copyright protection, it must qualify under the particular laws and requirements specific to that country (i.e., in the United Kingdom copyright requirements are provided in the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988). Other countries and their laws may differ from the requirements for copyright protection as set forth in the United States Copyright Act. For example, in the United States, Section 105 of the Copyright Act, the phrase "government works" is use to indicate a specific group of works under the law. Other countries may not use this phrase, or may use a different phrase to specify the group of works (i.e., "Crown Copyright" in the United Kingdom), or not offer protection to this group of works. While every country may not recognize or utilize the phrases "government works," "works created under the direction of the government," or "government employee works," it is imperative that if the reader wishes to utilize the method of obtaining a copyright in a foreign country, he or she should first obtain counsel and research the copyright laws of the country where they believe infringement or registration has occurred.

UNITED STATES GOVERNMENT WORK REGISTRATION UNDER CANADIAN COPYRIGHT LAW AND PRACTICE

United States government work may receive copyright protection abroad. Canada maintains a federal agency responsible for registering copyrights called the Canadian Intellectual Property Office (CIPO). Registration is official acknowledgment of a copyright claim. It means that the Copyright Office has recorded details about an author's or owner's work. Owners receive a certificate to this effect, which prohibits others from copyrighting their work without permission. Registration in the CIPO may be accomplished electronically via the Internet by completing a simple registration form and submitting it with the prescribed fee. (34) It is not necessary -- nor is one allowed -- to submit a copy of the work to be registered, as the CIPO does not review or assess the work in any way. Upon receipt of the form and fee, the CIPO will issue a certificate of copyright. The required registration information includes the title and category of the work; the date and place of first publication if published; author, applican t, or owner information; agent information if applicable; and payment method. The convenience, simplicity, and the economic feasibility of registration provide U.S. Government Works with the foreign protection contemplated under Section 105.