While I agree that all information from the federal government should be
in the public domain there are a few cases that seem to muddy the waters
a bit. These are almost always because of production of datasets with
CRADAs. One example is on the Global GIS Database series (one of which
came through the Federal Depository Library Program, SuDoc I
19.121:62-D). If you click on the datasets link on the homage and look
at the metadata for the World Wildlife Fund (WWF) Ecoregions you will
see under Path: ESRI Data & Maps 1 (CD) \World. If you go to the
Distribution Rights section of the ESRI Data & Maps 1 (CD) that came
with ArcView 3.2 you will see that the WWF did not provide permission to
redistribute the data (see the attached Word document). So in this
case, who knows? Should the data not have been included in the USGS
Global GIS Database in the first place? Did USGS or ESRI obtain
permission from the WWF and just not list that in the metadata (there is
nothing under "distribution information" in the metadata). Can we
legally redistribute the Global GIS database under the provision that it
was sent by the feds? I'm also not a lawyer, but I can tell you that we
do not distribute the WWF dataset off of the ESRI data & maps CDs
because it is quite clear we should not. The only reason I know this is
because I use the WWF on the ESRI CDs as an example of having to be
careful with compilations of data and what can and cannot be distributed
with my students.
My advice is simply to be careful and read everything you can on any
dataset, especially compilations. I'm quite confident the DRG's are
fine to redistribute, they started life as government information and
continue so in the electronic format.
Patti
Patti Day
Digital Spatial Data Librarian
American Geographical Society Library
University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee Libraries
Johnnie D. Sutherland wrote:
> -------- Original Message --------
> Subject: Re: Copyright of DRGs (fwd)
> Date: Wed, 14 Apr 2004 07:36:34 -0400 (EDT)
>
>
>
> ------------------
> All public information from the U.S. Federal Government is the public
> domain. (see <http://www.copyright.gov/title17/circ92.pdf>, Chapter 1,
> 105). But this does not hold true for other government documents, both
> within and outside the US. In fact, many governments, state and
local, DO
> copyright their documents. I would check with each source to see what
> practice they are using.
> Colleen
> Colleen R. Cahill | [log in to unmask]
> Digital Production Coordinator | (202)707-8540
> & Recommending Officer for | FAX (202)707-8531
> Science Fiction & Fantasy | Library of Congress
> These opinions are mine, Mine, Mine! | Washington, DC 20540-4652
>
>
> On Tue, 13 Apr 2004, Johnnie D. Sutherland wrote:
>
>> ------------------
>> Hi, all:
>>
>> I need your combined wisdom to answer this email. I think the answer is
>> that all gov information distributed by gov agencies are not
copyrighted.
>> The geospatial data we have on INSIDE Idaho are also public domain data,
>> so he should be able to package the data and distribute them as
commercial
>> data for profit. I know, in the past, quite a few gov docs have been
>> republished and sold through commercial publishers. Digital data
would be
>> treated the same. The DRGs and DOQQs on INSIDE Idaho have been
worked on,
>> and enhanced for public access, but we never thought of copyright
the data
>> and it would be contrary to the idea of a statewide clearinghouse for
>> distributing geospatial data. Any input you can provide would be
>> appreciated. Thanks. Lily
>>
>> Lily Wai, INSIDE Idaho Project Director Phone: 208-885-6344
>> Professor, Head of Government Documents Fax: 208-885-6817
>> University of Idaho Library (0135) E-Mail:[log in to unmask]
>> Rayburn Street
http://www.lib.uidaho.edu/govdoc
>> Moscow, Idaho 83844-2353 http://inside.uidaho.edu
>>
>> ---------- Forwarded message ----------
>> Date: Tue, 13 Apr 2004 16:50:08 +0000
>> From: Greg Thorhaug <[log in to unmask]>
>> To: [log in to unmask]
>> Subject: Copyright of DRGs
>>
>> Hello Lily,
>> I am interested in downloading DRG and other data from publicly
available
>> web sites (such as INSIDE) and packaging it as a product for sale.
What are
>> the laws regarding this? Do I need to pay a fee or is the data "in the
>> public domain" and, if so, does this mean that I can package
DRG/DOQQ and
>> vector data from your site, as well as other government sites, as a
product
>> that I could sell? I would appreciate as much information and
resources on
>> this subject that you have available. Thanks!!
>>
--
Patti Day
Digital Spatial Data Librarian
American Geographical Society Library
University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee Libraries
P.O. Box 399
Milwaukee, WI 53201
Phone: 414-229-6282
Fax: 414-229-3624
[log in to unmask]
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