Re: Intent to package proj -- coyright question

[Kirk Hilliard <kirk@ghoti.com>]

Flashback:
  I want to package proj, some programs and library calls to convert
  between various geographic projections and coordinate systems.  It
  is available on a USGS ftp site, and the author wrote it as part of
  his official duties there before he retired.  The trouble was that
  there is no copyright, license, or distribution information included
  with it.  Everyone I asked (including the author) says that since it
  was on a US Gov't ftp site, "of course it is public domain".

I asked about this on gnu.misc.discuss, and was told:

 Anything (including code) written by gov't employees (including DoD)
 that is within the scope of their official duties is a "work of the
 US Gov't" and is not subject to copyright protection in the United
 States.

and was referred to 17 USC 105

  105. Subject matter of copyright: United States Government works

    Copyright protection under this title is not available for any
    work of the United States Government, but the United States
    Government is not precluded from receiving and holding copyrights
    transferred to it by assignment, bequest, or otherwise.

(See http://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/17/105.shtml .)

So, my intention is to get an email from the author stating that he
wrote proj as part of his official duties at USGS, and include it in
the copyright file along with a mention that this makes it a work of the
US Government, and thus not subject to copyright protection according
to 17 USC 105.  How does this sound?

-- 
Kirk Hilliard
Choose a loose moose.


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