The Electronic Frontier Foundation, May 13, 2016, opposes California Assembly Bill 2880 that grants local and state governments copyright authority and other intellectual property rights. EFF’s Ernesto Falcon writes that EFF is worried the bill would “chill speech, stifle open government, and harm the public domain.” Under the bill, all works paid for by the public could qualify for intellectual property restrictions including “trademarks, patents, trade secrets, and copyrights.”
The Legislative Analysis, March 15, 2016 claims that the State could dispel objections to the law with a simple clarification: “One concern arising from state ownership of intellectual property is that ownership conflicts with the principle of open government – by restricting the dissemination of information. The argument is that state agencies could use intellectual property laws to deny access to information….
In at least one state, this threat exists because material to which access is limited by copyright or patents can be legally withheld from the public. However, since California does not have similar exclusions, this threat seems remote. Even so, the State can answer this concern by clarifying existing law to declare its intent that protection under intellectual property laws does not preclude state agencies from disclosing otherwise accessible information.”