Is government information not copyrighted?

Can you literally copy and paste their information?

[btahead]

If I would like text for my site, is it okay to copy and paste government written information?

[vkaryl]

Depends. There wasn't any info re copyright on the campground maps I wanted to use on our town website, so I emailed the local Forest Service District Ranger. He basically stated that all of the info on their site(s) that did NOT have a specifically noted copyright was public domain, and that I didn't need permission to utilize the clickable maps.

Nice. But I credited the Forest Service anyway, AND have a printed copy of the email in my safe-deposit box.

Then, I contacted another individual in a different forest district - I wanted to use some photos and text of various local flowers etc. I was told in no uncertain terms that any use of "USDA Forest Service copyrighted material" was STRICTLY FORBIDDEN.

*shrug* May depend on who you talk to.

[BigDave]

Title 17, chapter 1, section 105 states in pretty unambiguous terms:

Sec. 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

So, the question would be, is it a work produced by the government, or is it a work whose copyright has been assigned to the government?

If a photograph is on the the forest service website, that doesn't necessarily mean that it was taken by a USFS photographer.

If you are talking about an oofficial government document, then it is definitely clear of copyright.

There is also the question about where you are getting the documents, lexis-nexis or westlaw for example, and did you agree to any contract terms that would keep you from copying those documents *from them*.