4 ms·
Can anyone explain: why are government works automatically public domain (not copyrighted) but government inventions are not unless explicitly stated?
by payne92 10y ago
Can anyone explain: why are government works automatically public domain (not copyrighted) but government inventions are not unless explicitly stated?
- delecti 10y agoProbably because copyright is automatic and patents aren't. You have to actively patent an invention to make sure nobody else patents it, but the same risk (someone else copyrighting the government's work) isn't really applicable on the other side.
- unchocked 10y agoI don't think that's the case: an unpatented invention (that is disclosed) becomes prior art, which protects the invention from being patented by someone else. Theoretically. The US patent system is a mess, from the rubber-stamp examiners in DC to the ridiculous judges in East Texas.
- refurb 10y agoI don't think that's the case: an unpatented invention (that is disclosed) becomes prior art, which protects the invention from being patented by someone else. If an unpatented invention is disclosed publically (not through a patent application), then it becomes public domain and nobody can patent it. Also, the US is no longer "first to invent", but rather "first to file". You could have a claim that you invented it first, but if someone files before you, you are SOL.
- fu9ar 10y agoCopyright is automatic in principle, but not in practice. You have to pay lawyers a shitload of money in order to enforce either. The same risk, of having to pay lawyers a shitload of money, stands in both cases.
- cloudjacker 10y agoThe government has one hundred and one ways to get around that "restriction". Primarily employees and contractors can automatically assign works to the government whether it is copyrighted or patented. Then the government maintains the transferred rights, instead of having to deal with the pesky public domain thing.