Does section 105 of the copyright act apply?
- January 11, 2020 @ 8:19amdudley says:
Hi
I am trying to put together a short documentary more as an exhibit of my editing prowess than for the content. My intent for the final product was not to directly profit from it but to share it freely as a portfolio piece and hopefully someone could make constructive use of it. As a topic I intentionally chose something for which I thought there would be plentiful public domain resources to work with. The topic is a type of American military missile used in the 60s and 70s.
There are a lot of relevant vintage government made video files online, but I notice many are posted by a company or companies and they request licensing fees. These videos say "The United States Army Presents" right in the intro and most date to 1960 to 1962. Doesn't this content fall under section 105 of the copyright act? Am I not free to use this content as I wish (even including for profit) without paying anyone?
Thanks - January 22, 2020 @ 1:35pmCarrie says:
I agree, it sounds like a government work and should be free to copy. Sometimes the govt hires someone to produce something and maybe there was a contract negotiation that allowed the author to keep rights. But according to 105, these works are in the public domain.
I think you have a good fair use argument as well
Good luck
-Carrie
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