View all text of Chapter 1 [§ 101 - § 122]
§ 105. Subject matter of copyright: United States Government works
(a)In General.—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.
(b)Copyright Protection of Certain Works.—Subject to subsection (c), the covered author of a covered work owns the copyright to that covered work.
(c)Use by Federal Government.—
(1)Secretary of defense authority.—With respect to a covered author who produces a covered work in the course of employment at a covered institution described in subparagraphs (A) through (L) of subsection (d)(2), the Secretary of Defense may direct the covered author to provide the Federal Government with an irrevocable, royalty-free, worldwide, nonexclusive license to reproduce, distribute, perform, or display such covered work for purposes of the United States Government.
(2)Director of national intelligence authority.—With respect to a covered author who produces a covered work in the course of employment at the covered institution described in subsection (d)(2)(M),1
1 So in original. There are two subpars. designated (M) in subsec. (d)(2).
the Director of National Intelligence may direct the covered author to provide the Federal Government with an irrevocable, royalty-free, world-wide, nonexclusive license to reproduce, distribute, perform, or display such covered work for purposes of the United States Government.(d)Definitions.—In this section:
(1) The term “covered author” means a civilian member of the faculty of a covered institution.
(2) The term “covered institution” means the following:
(A) National Defense University.
(B) United States Military Academy.
(C) Army War College.
(D) United States Army Command and General Staff College.
(E) United States Naval Academy.
(F) Naval War College.
(G) Naval Post Graduate School.
(H) Marine Corps University.
(I) United States Air Force Academy.
(J) Air University.
(K) Defense Language Institute.
(L) United States Coast Guard Academy.
(M)2
2 So in original. There are two subpars. (M).
United States Merchant Marine Academy.(M)2 National Intelligence University.
(3) The term “covered Secretary” 3
3 Term does not appear in section after amendment by section 6306(2) of Pub. L. 117–263. See 2022 Amendment notes for subsec. (c) below.
means—(A) the Secretary of Transportation, with respect to the United States Merchant Marine Academy;
(B) the Secretary of Homeland Security, with respect to the United States Coast Guard Academy; or
(C) the Secretary of Defense, with respect to any other covered institution under paragraph (2).
(4) The term “covered work” means a literary work produced by a covered author in the course of employment at a covered institution for publication by a scholarly press or journal.
(Pub. L. 94–553, title I, § 101, Oct. 19, 1976, 90 Stat. 2546; Pub. L. 116–92, div. A, title V, § 544, Dec. 20, 2019, 133 Stat. 1376; Pub. L. 117–263, div. C, title XXXV, § 3514, div. F, title LXIII, § 6306, Dec. 23, 2022, 136 Stat. 3068, 3504.)