Works of the United States Government: Time to Consider Copyright Protection
Abstract
The United States federal government invests billions of dollars in research and development activities each year. Some of this research develops into inventions, which may be patented and licensed. This research-and other federal activity-also yields tangible results that would generally be protected by copyright. However, copyright protection is specifically and explicitly prohibited for "any work of the United States Government". Thus, the U.S. taxpayer benefits from patentable results, but entirely subsidizes works that could otherwise be licensed through copyright law. This thesis proposes resolving this dichotomy in the treatment of resources, by allowing copyright protection in federal government works. This would bring federal policy in line with the practice of many states and all other countries, and provide many benefits -- including shepherding the taxpayers' investment, linking costs to those who benefit from government works, bringing transparency to government actions, and rewarding creative federal employees. This paper examines the development of the federal prohibition, and compares it with the context of other federal intellectual property protection and the current policies of states and other nations. The paper then discusses the benefits of the current prohibition and the proposed protection. With that setting in place, the proposal is made and analyzed.
Document Details
- Document Type
- Technical Report
- Publication Date
- Aug 07, 2002
- Accession Number
- ADA406618
Entities
People
- Bradley W. Mitchell
Organizations
- George Washington University