Copyright status of work by the Florida government

Copyright status of work by the Florida government

Under Florida's Constitution and its statutes, Florida's public records[1] are not permitted to claim copyright unless the legislature specifically permits it.[2][3][4] This includes a work made or received pursuant to law or ordinance or in connection with the transaction of official business by any state, regional, county, district, municipal, or other unit of government and their associated committees and divisions created or established by the laws of the Government of Florida.[1]

Text, communications, and images produced by the government of Florida and any county, region, district, authority, agency, or municipal officer, department, division, board, committee, bureau, commission, or other separate unit of government created or established by law are consequently in the public domain according to court interpretation in Microdecisions, Inc. v. Skinner.[4]

Contents

Exemptions

The bar on copyright extends to any "public record made or received in connection with the official business of any public body, officer, or employee of the state, or persons acting on their behalf, except with respect to records exempted [specifically by statute or specifically made exempt or] confidential by the Constitution. [It] specifically includes the legislative, executive, and judicial branches of government and each agency or department created thereunder; counties, municipalities, and districts; and each constitutional officer, board, and commission, or entity created pursuant to law or [the Florida] Constitution."[2]

There are various categories of works for which the legislature has specifically permitted copyright to be claimed, mostly for a few applications or development processes wherein the state derives income and while competing with private industries in the commercial realm, such as allowing the department of the lottery,[5] the department of citrus,[6] and some university research departments[7] to secure copyrights for certain works that are expressly defined and narrowly limited.

The list of valid exemptions is culled regularly via a sunset policy to exclude items put on the list by error or via legislation passed within a recent session that does not conform to the laws. The state is attempting to streamline its exemptions and the current status of works claiming exemption must be verified as conforming to the laws before being presumed to be copyright since copyright may be claimed in error for things that remain a public record nonetheless.

See also

References

  1. ^ a b Florida Statutes §119.011(12)
  2. ^ a b Florida Constitution Article I, §24(a)
  3. ^ Florida Statutes §119.011(11)
  4. ^ a b Microdecisions, Inc. v. Skinner, 889 S.2d 871, at 9 (2004).
  5. ^ Florida Statutes §24.105(10)
  6. ^ Florida Statutes §601.101
  7. ^ Florida Statutes §1004.23

External links


Wikimedia Foundation. 2010.

Игры ⚽ Поможем решить контрольную работу

Look at other dictionaries:

  • Copyright status of work by the U.S. government — A work of the United States government, as defined by United States copyright law, is a work prepared by an officer or employee of the U.S. government as part of that person s official duties. [1] The term only applies to the work of the federal… …   Wikipedia

  • Copyright status of work by U.S. state governments — The copyright status of work by U.S. state governments is defined by the respective state laws as opposed to the federal copyright status of work by the U.S. government. The federal law does not apply to state or municipal governments, District… …   Wikipedia

  • Wikipedia:Public domain status of official government works — Shortcut: WP:PDOMG The public domain status of official government works is sometimes difficult to determine, but keeps coming up on Wikipedia again and again. There are some easy cases: works of the United States federal government, for example …   Wikipedia

  • Microdecisions, Inc. v. Skinner — Microdecisions, Inc. v. Skinner, 889 S.2d 871 (Fla. 2d Dist. App. 2004), was a case before the Florida Second District Court of Appeal concerning whether the Collier County, Florida Property Appraiser could require prospective commercial users of …   Wikipedia

  • Scientology and the legal system — The Church of Scientology has been involved in court disputes in several countries. In some cases, when the Church has initiated the dispute, question has been raised as to its motives. [cite web | first = Douglas | last = Frantz | title = An… …   Wikipedia

  • History of religion in the United States — The religious history of the United States begins more than a century before the former British colonies became the United States of America in 1776.Some of the original settlers were men and women of deep religious convictions. The religious… …   Wikipedia

  • History of the United States Constitution — The United States Constitution was written in 1787, but it did not take effect until after it was ratified in 1789, when it replaced the Articles of Confederation. It remains the basic law of the United States. The United States Constitution also …   Wikipedia

  • Reconstruction Era of the United States — In the history of the United States, the term Reconstruction Era has two senses: the first covers the entire nation in the period 1865–1877 following the Civil War; the second one, used in this article, covers the transformation of the Southern… …   Wikipedia

  • Reconstruction era of the United States — In the history of the United States, Reconstruction refers to the time between 1863 and 1877 when the U.S. focused on abolishing slavery, destroying the Confederacy, and reconstructing the nation and the Constitution. Reconstruction is also the… …   Wikipedia

  • Slavery in the United States — began soon after English colonists first settled Virginia in 1607 and lasted until the passage of the Thirteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution in 1865. Before the widespread establishment of chattel slavery, much labor was organized …   Wikipedia

Share the article and excerpts

Direct link
Do a right-click on the link above
and select “Copy Link”