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Public domainPublic domainfalsefalse
This work was created by a government unit (including state, county, city, and municipal government agencies) that derives its powers from the laws of theState of California and is subject to disclosure under theCalifornia Public Records Act (Government Code § 7920 et seq.). It is a public record that wasnot created by an agency which state law has allowed to claim copyright, and is therefore in thepublic domain in the United States.
Records subject to disclosure under the Public Records Act
Although the act only covers “writing,” the Act, pursuant toGovernment Code § 7920.545, states:“Writing” means any handwriting, typewriting, printing, photostating, photographing, photocopying, transmitting by electronic mail or facsimile, and every other means of recording upon any tangible thing any form of communication or representation, including letters, words, pictures, sounds, or symbols, or combinations thereof, and any record thereby created, regardless of the manner in which the record has been stored.
Agencies permitted to claim copyright
California's Constitution and its statutes do not permit any agency to claim copyright for "public records" unless authorized to do so by law. The following agencies are permitted to claim copyright andany works of these agencies should be assumed to be copyrighted outside of the United States without clear evidence to the contrary:
The Health and Human Services Agency (as to certain specified deliverables relating to the health information exchange). SeeHealth & Safety Code § 130251.15.
County of Santa Clara v. CFAC held that the State of California, or any government entity which derives its power from the State, cannot enforce a copyright in any record subject to the Public Records Act in the absence of another state statute giving it the authority to do so. This applies even if there is a copyright notice, so long as the State of California or one of its agencies (other than those listed above) is indicated as the copyright holder.
Note: Works that are considered "public records" but were not created by a state or municipal government agency may be copyrighted by their author; theSupremacy Clause of theUnited States Constitution prevents state law from overriding the author's right to copyright protection that is granted by federal law. For example, a state agency may post images online of the final appearance of a building under construction; while the images may have to be released by such agency since they are public records, their creator (eg. architecture/construction firm) retains copyright rights to these images unless the contract with the agency says otherwise. See:Government-in-the-Sunshine Manual: To what extent does federal law preempt state law regarding public inspection of records?.
Copyrightable Works by the State in the United States: Works published by agencies that are permitted to claim copyright per state law should be tagged with {{PD-US-GovEdict}} instead of this template due to the reasons listed on that template.
Disclaimer: The information provided, especially the list of agencies permitted to claim copyright, may not be complete. Wikimedia Commons makesno guarantee of the adequacy or validity of this information in this template (seedisclaimer).
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