Copyright Law Constraints on the Transfer of Certain Federal Computer Software with Commercial Applications

Abstract

Mr. Chairman and Members of the Subcommittee: I am pleased to present our views on the copyright law's prohibition on copyrighting the federal government's computer software. My statement today is based on our ongoing work for this Subcommittee. At your request, we are examining (1) federal agencies' efforts to comply with the prohibition on copyrighting works of the government, (2) the extent to which copyright law has constrained the transfer of federal software, and (3) the pros and cons of amending copyright law to allow federal agencies to copyright computer software. This review follows up on our March 1988 report, in which we identified copyright law as a constraint to the transfer of federal computer software to U.S. businesses.

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Document Details

Document Type
Technical Report
Publication Date
Mar 07, 1990
Accession Number
ADA282608

Entities

People

  • Keith O. Fultz

Organizations

  • United States Government Accountability Office

Tags

Communities of Interest

  • Biomedical

DTIC Thesaurus Topics

  • Agreements
  • Artificial Intelligence
  • Artificial Intelligence Software
  • Commerce
  • Computer Programs
  • Computers
  • Congress
  • Copyrights
  • Economic Development
  • Governments
  • Intellectual Property
  • Law
  • Marketing
  • National Governments
  • Patents
  • Technology Transfer
  • United States Government

Readers

  • Database Systems and Applications
  • Defense Financial Management and Audit.
  • Library and Information Science