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I was reading a little item about government copyright in a local Minneapolis
paper. Many non-federal governements that have not copyrighted material are
looking at copyright as a way to generate revenue. Much of the debate seems
to be that copyright might mean less public access (and it would mean map
publishers would have to pay to use govermenet base materials). It got me
thinking:
 
1.  As I recall, crown (government) copyright in Britain is perpetual (I know
this is true of Oxford and Cambridge U. Presses). Am I remembering rightly?
 
2.  Is this still true of Ordnance Survey with its reformation into a
semi-autonomous agency? In the US, once the Postal Service separated from the
governement in 1971, they were no longer considered governement publishers
and were able to copyright stamp designs.
 
3.  Canadian government publications (notably maps) also have crown
copyright. Is this perpetual? What about provincial governemnet documents?
Specifically, what about Quebec governement documents, given that Quebec law
is based on French, rather than English common law.
 
 
Nat Case
Hedberg Maps
White River Jct, VT