Re: Copyright of Public Records and Web Pages

From: <ArborLaw[_at_]aol.com>
Date: Mon, 21 Oct 1996 17:22:40 -0400

Dean DeBolt writes:
>
> A question has risen at the University of West Florida. Under
> state law, the majority of university documents are public
> records. Several staff (unaware of the impact of public records
> laws) have suggested that we still have the ability to copyright
> materials. And several staff, placing these public records on
> University web pages, are now attaching copyright notices to
> them.
>
> Is anyone on the list aware of whether public records can be
> copyrighted? And especially when such are placed on a web page
> (without graphics), is a copyright notice applicable?

I would have a number of questions. "Copyrighted" in whose name, the state or the University or the individual? Also, what does your public records law say, in its definition of what constitutes a public record? Are works expressly dedicated under the text of that law into the public domain for copyright purposes? While there's a good argument to be made, I don't think that public records are necessarily "public domain" under US copyright law. Nothing in the law prevents state governments from authoring and holding copyrights. (lots on this last issue in the CNI archive for this list)

Carol Shepherd
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==--====-==-=-=-==--=--====--=-=-=-====---===-=-=-====---===---= Received on Mon Oct 21 1996 - 21:43:56 GMT