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Date:      Sat, 9 Jun 2001 14:37:37 -0500 (CDT)
From:      David Scheidt <dscheidt@tumbolia.com>
To:        Arun Sharma <arun@sharmas.dhs.org>
Cc:        Brett Glass <brett@lariat.org>, <freebsd-chat@FreeBSD.ORG>
Subject:   RE: GPL for govt funded/developed projects ?
Message-ID:  <Pine.BSF.4.32L2.0106091430560.45567-100000@shell-1.enteract.com>
In-Reply-To: <DHEDJIFGMBALKGPEKCFKKEILCAAA.arun@sharmas.dhs.org>

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On Sat, 9 Jun 2001, Arun Sharma wrote:

:> :If it's a work for hire, the law considers it to have been produced BY
:> :the government. It has all the rights to the work that exist, and is
:> :compelled to relinquish them by putting the work in the public domain.
:>
:> Well, no.  17 USC 105 :
:>
:> 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.
:>
:> (the Commerce Department produces some standard reference data that is
:> covered by copyright, because another statute says it is.)
:
:In this case, www.sandia.gov seems to be a part of the US government. My
:understanding is that people who worked on this project are US government
:employees. So their work becomes a work of the government, doesn't it ?

If they're Federal government employees, yes.  If they're contractors, it's
probably true.

:
:How is "work for hire" legally different from "work of the" government ?

It's not much.  But not all work done for the government is work for hire.
Quite a bit is standard contract work.  The Feds usually acquire the code as
part of the contract, though.

-- 
dscheidt@tumbolia.com
Bipedalism is only a fad.


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