Working Up

by Dwayne Phillips

Information created with funds provided by the public is owned by the public. Hence, it is in the public domain.

Public domain is an interesting and fundamental concept. The writings of Jane Austen, one example, are in the public domain. The copyright protection she earned by writing in her lifetime has expired. Anyone can publish her works and sell them.

There is another aspect of the public domain that seems to escape people, particularly those people who are employed by the public. If the public pays for something to be created, the public owns that. It is in the public domain. If members of the public who are employed by the government write something, that something is in the public domain. Members of the public should have access to it and be able to profit from it in business.

If public funds are used by a government agency to write software, that software—created with money from the public—is in the public domain.

This is pretty simple. I am not a lawyer, so some lawyers may write and explain how my simple thoughts may be incorrect.