Copyrights for the technology transfer of government software

David P. Leech () and John Scott
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David P. Leech: Economic Analysis & Evaluation, LLC

The Journal of Technology Transfer, 2023, vol. 48, issue 6, No 10, 2178 pages

Abstract: Abstract With only a few exceptions, U.S. copyright law does not allow copyrights for software created by the U.S. federal agencies’ government-operated laboratories. This paper explains the public policy concern that the inability to copyright the software causes a barrier to the transfer of government software to the private sector. Using a survey of developers and managers of custom software developed within the federal agencies, the paper presents and interprets new evidence supporting the view that allowing copyright protection would dramatically increase the transfer of the technology.

Keywords: Copyright; Copyright Act of 1976; Federal agencies; Federal laboratories; Federal Technology Transfer Act of 1986; Government-owned contractor-operated (GOCO) laboratories; Government-owned government-operated (GOGO) laboratories; Government Works software; Invention licenses; Patents; Software; Software copyrights; Software licenses; Software patents; Technology transfer (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: H42 O31 O32 O33 O34 O38 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2023
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DOI: 10.1007/s10961-022-09939-9

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