This work is in the public domain in the United States because it was a Commonwealth of Massachusetts public record disseminated by a Commonwealth agency or the Massachusetts Archives. Massachusetts' Secretary of the Commonwealth has stated that such works can be copied and used for any purpose. This copyright does not extend to those records created, received, or under the custody of municipalities by M. G. L. c. 66, § 7, unless otherwise stated, nor does this apply to copy-written materials for commercial purposes received by employees of the Commonwealth.
Language describing permissions
A Guide to the Massachusetts Public Records Law,
Published by
William Francis Galvin,
Secretary of the Commonwealth
Division of Public Records,
(Updated January 2017)
can be found at https://www.mass.gov/files/2017-06/Public%20Records%20Law.pdf and page 7 says:
"With the exception of situations in which a records custodian is withholding records pursuant to Exemption (n), inquiries into a requester's status or motivation for seeking information are expressly prohibited. [1] Consequently, all requests for public records, even if made for a commercial purpose or to assist the requester in a lawsuit against the holder of the records, must be honored in accordance with the Public Records Law."
↑See G. L. c. 66, § 10(a) (public records are to be provided to “any person”); see also 950 CMR 32.05(5) (custodian prohibited from inquiring into a requester’s status or motivation); but see G. L. c. 4, § 7(26)(n) (a records custodian may ask the requester to voluntarily provide additional information in order to reach a “reasonable judgment” regarding disclosure of responsive records).
Definition of "public record"
Public records are defined in A Guide to the Massachusetts Public Records Law,
Published by
William Francis Galvin,
Secretary of the Commonwealth
Division of Public Records,
(Updated January 2017)
at https://www.mass.gov/files/2017-06/Public%20Records%20Law.pdf on page 40, under M. G. L. c. 4, § 7(26) as:
all books, papers, maps, photographs, recorded tapes, financial statements, statistical tabulations, or other documentary materials or data, regardless of physical form or characteristics, made or received by any officer or employee of any agency, executive office, department, board, commission, bureau, division or authority of the commonwealth, or of any political subdivision thereof, or of any authority established by the general court to serve a public purpose, or any person, corporation, association, partnership or other legal entity which receives or expends public funds for the payment or administration of pensions for any current or former employees of the commonwealth or any political subdivision as defined in section 1 of chapter 32, unless such materials or data fall within the following exemptions found on page 40
Limitations of template usage
Concerned wikipedia editors have noticed that the Commonwealth may make unfounded allegations that copyright protections exist for state regulations based on technical codes developed and copyrighted by private organizations. Where such works/allegations are concerned, {{PD-EdictGov}} and {{PD-US-Codes-and-Standards-as-Statutory-Law}} may be appropriate.
This template is based on official statements by the Secretary of the Commonwealth, which are not definitive in the way a statute or a court ruling is. This formal statement only speaks to public records held by the Massachusetts Archives, so the use of this template for public records of the Commonwealth sourced from individuals or groups not affiliated therewith is not encouraged.
"Those records created by Massachusetts government agencies and institutions held by the Massachusetts Archives are not copyrighted and are available for public use. Copyright for materials submitted to state agencies may be held by the person or organization that created the document."
Note: Works that are considered "public records" but were not created by a state or municipal government agency may be copyrighted by their author; the Supremacy Clause of the United 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 be "public records", their creator (eg. architecture/construction firm) retains copyright rights to the image 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?. Disclaimer: The information provided, especially the list of agencies permitted to claim copyright, may not be complete. Wikimedia Commons makes no guarantee of the adequacy or validity of this information in this template (see disclaimer).
Public domainPublic domainfalsefalse
La situación del derecho de autor de este material es teóricamente incierta, debido a que en su país de origen (así como en aquellos donde se aplica la regla del plazo más corto), el derecho de autor expira después de transcurridos 70 años (o menos) tras la muerte del autor, pero se desconoce la fecha de fallecimiento de este último. Sin embargo, se sabe que la creación de este material data de hace más de 120 años y, por lo tanto, es razonable suponer que el derecho de autor ha expirado (ver aquí la discusión de la comunidad). Por favor, no utilices esta plantilla si se conoce la fecha de deceso del autor.
También debes incluir una etiqueta de dominio público de los Estados Unidos para indicar por qué esta obra está en el dominio público en los Estados Unidos. Tenga en cuenta que algunos países tienen términos de derechos de autor más de 70 años: México tiene 100 años, Jamaica tiene 95 años, Colombia tiene 80 años, y Guatemala y Samoa tienen 75 años. Esta imagen puede no estar en el dominio público en estos países, que además no aplican la regla de corto plazo. Honduras tiene un derecho de autor general de 75, pero aplica la regla de corto plazo. Esto está sujeto a la leyes respectivas sobre los derechos intelectuales.
