Re: SCIENCE TODAY?

From: Dan L Burk <BURKDANL[_at_]shu.edu>
Date: Wed, 03 Mar 1999 09:41:07 -0500

On 03/02/99, Joe Lane <joelane[_at_]nm.net> wrote:
>
> On Mon, 1 Mar 1999, Albert Henderson <noblestation[_at_]compuserve.com> wrote:
> >
> > On 23 Feb 1999, Dan L. Burk <burkdanl[_at_]shu.edu> wrote:
> > >
> > > 2) If a writer is a statutory author, copyright vests whether a
> > > claim is made or not.
> > >
> > > 3) If the writer is an employee of the publisher such that the work
> > > is a work made for hire, there is no transfer; the publisher IS
> > > the author. If the writer is not an employee, the copyright can
> > > be transferred but it is NOT a work made for hire (except in a
> > > situation that probably does not apply here, pursuant to a
> > > written agreement, when the work falls into certain statutorily
> > > ennumerated categories).
> >
> > If the writer is an employee or a freelance contractor
> > of the researcher, however, I believe the work would be
> > most likely "made for hire."
>
> Question: If someone writes a (CFR) Code of Federal Regualtion for
> their boss, should the boss get the credit for writing it? The person
> who wrote it did all the research. Or does the fedral government own
> the rights to it? Now, From what I understand, Government Information
> has separate copyright rules. (A new MLS Student)

In the United States, federal government documents lie in the public domain. You might think of this as a sort of conceptual "work-for-hire" -- the government supposedly works for the public, so the public owns its work product. (I stress that this is a metaphor, this is NOT a statutory work made for hire).

As to who gets the credit -- I don't know about CFRs, but lobbyists typically draft statutes, and generally do *not* want credit.

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Dan L. Burk
Seton Hall University
burkdanl[_at_]shu.edu

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Received on Wed Mar 03 1999 - 18:29:59 GMT