Government agencies use public money to create web content and then prevent people from using it. Wouldn’t it make sense to put content created by public dollars in the public domain?
I find this on Local and Central government websites. Here’s an example from Tenancy Services:
Except where stated otherwise, this website and the information on it is protected by Crown copyright.
You may reproduce information on this site for personal or non-commercial use without formal permission or charge as long as you clearly indicate that the website of Tenancy Services is the source of the information, any disclaimers applying to the information are reproduced, and that the material is not sold or used in an inappropriate or misleading context having regard to the nature of the material.
Tenancy Services holds copyright or licence rights to all images and trademarks on this website, including the Tenancy Services logo. Images and trademarks on this site must not be used or reproduced for any purpose, including personal or educational use, unless the written permission of Tenancy Services has been obtained.
Isn’t that covered by other laws, though? “Impersonating the government” or the like? I feel like a warning about breaking that law would carry as much weight as a copyright notice.
I can’t think of what law would be broken by impersonating a government website (rather than a person). Maybe there is one, but if you released the content of government websites in the public domain then it would be much harder to prove you were impersonating and not just using your right to the website in the public domain.
Plus, it would be a lot easier to get a host to take down the website if you can follow an established DCMA type process instead of some law from NZ that the host isn’t really equipped to interpret.