4 ms·

All government video/pictures etc are public domain.

by dantheman 17y ago

tibbon 17y ago
Exactly. The US Military cannot hold copyright. They could classify it, but that's about it.
Splines 17y ago
Really? I'm not trying to be facetious: Can anybody roll up to the military and ask for arbitrary gun camera footage?
- jrockway 17y ago
  If they get it, it's not protected by copyright. That's it.
  - dotBen 17y ago
    Do you have a source for this piece of information? I'm led to believe it is the other way around, anything obtained illegally doesn't automatically become public domain - but I don't have an internet based source to link to at the moment.
    - albertsun 17y ago
      Public domain is just its copyright status. The legality/illegality of publishing or disseminating it is a separate unrelated issue. Everything created by the USFG is automatically public domain, but just because something is public domain doesn't mean it can circulate freely in public.
    - rgejman 17y ago
      See the Pentagon Papers http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pentagon_Papers http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pentagon_Papers Even stolen information cannot be enjoined from publication by the government.
  - Splines 17y ago
    Ah, I see. Thanks for the clarification.
dotBen 17y ago
It's more murkey than that. As I understand it, all video that is released by the govenment and army is public domain -- but it is not clear exactly how this video was obtained. In the website they say that they made a freedom of information request but later say they had to decrypt the video. That seems to suggest that the video was not released to them under the freedom of information request and instead an encrypted original was obtained by other means not explained. I doubt any video of recent active combat is going to be declassified and thus available under a FOIR, and if you obtain something illegally/unofficially that doesn't suddenly make it public domain. (to be clear, I'm glad this video is out there - it is an important story being told. But IMHO the distribution status of the video is a reasonable discussion topic none the less)
- cookiecaper 17y ago
  Are leaks of classified info usually prosecuted under copyright laws? It seems that they would apply something more severe or specific. It is my understanding that all works of the US gov. are public domain and classified content is protected under secrecy laws, not copyright laws.
  - deleted 17y ago
    [deleted]
  - rgejman 17y ago
    If they are released, even accidentally, or stolen, they cannot be enjoined. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pentagon_Papers http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pentagon_Papers
- dantheman 17y ago
  Just a small nitpick, it's not FOIR it's FOIA (Freedom Of Information Act)
  - reitzensteinm 17y ago
    FOIR works as well, referring specifically to the request (Freedom of Information Request).

All government video/pictures etc are public domain.

tibbon 17y ago

Exactly. The US Military cannot hold copyright. They could classify it, but that's about it.

Splines 17y ago

Really? I'm not trying to be facetious: Can anybody roll up to the military and ask for arbitrary gun camera footage?

jrockway 17y ago
If they get it, it's not protected by copyright. That's it.
- dotBen 17y ago
  Do you have a source for this piece of information? I'm led to believe it is the other way around, anything obtained illegally doesn't automatically become public domain - but I don't have an internet based source to link to at the moment.
  - albertsun 17y ago
    Public domain is just its copyright status. The legality/illegality of publishing or disseminating it is a separate unrelated issue. Everything created by the USFG is automatically public domain, but just because something is public domain doesn't mean it can circulate freely in public.
  - rgejman 17y ago
    See the Pentagon Papers http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pentagon_Papers http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pentagon_Papers Even stolen information cannot be enjoined from publication by the government.
- Splines 17y ago
  Ah, I see. Thanks for the clarification.

dotBen 17y ago

It's more murkey than that. As I understand it, all video that is released by the govenment and army is public domain -- but it is not clear exactly how this video was obtained. In the website they say that they made a freedom of information request but later say they had to decrypt the video. That seems to suggest that the video was not released to them under the freedom of information request and instead an encrypted original was obtained by other means not explained. I doubt any video of recent active combat is going to be declassified and thus available under a FOIR, and if you obtain something illegally/unofficially that doesn't suddenly make it public domain. (to be clear, I'm glad this video is out there - it is an important story being told. But IMHO the distribution status of the video is a reasonable discussion topic none the less)

cookiecaper 17y ago
Are leaks of classified info usually prosecuted under copyright laws? It seems that they would apply something more severe or specific. It is my understanding that all works of the US gov. are public domain and classified content is protected under secrecy laws, not copyright laws.
- deleted 17y ago
  [deleted]
- rgejman 17y ago
  If they are released, even accidentally, or stolen, they cannot be enjoined. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pentagon_Papers http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pentagon_Papers
dantheman 17y ago
Just a small nitpick, it's not FOIR it's FOIA (Freedom Of Information Act)
- reitzensteinm 17y ago
  FOIR works as well, referring specifically to the request (Freedom of Information Request).