US federal government
Title 17 USC §105, Subject matter of copyright: United States Government works, provides that "Copyright protection is not available for any work of the United States Government," defined in Title 17 USC §101, as "a work prepared by an officer or employee of the United States Government as part of that person's official duties." Therefore, only those works solely authored by US Federal Government employees are not protected by copyright in the United States.
Works produced by contractors and grantees for the federal government are generally protected by copyright. In such cases, the Government is granted a nonexclusive, irrevocable, worldwide, royalty-free license in the work to reproduce, prepare derivative works, distribute copies to the public, and perform publicly and display publicly, and to allow others to do so, for US Government purposes. The Government's license does not place these works in the public domain. Additionally, a copyrighted work for which the copyright has been transferred to the Government by assignment or bequest is not in the public domain.
Look for copyright and permissions notices on US Federal Government publications and websites. However be cautioned that government agencies often advise that in the absence of a copyright notice, users may assume their information is not copyrighted. This contradicts the copyright law as amended in 1989, when the United States joined the Berne Convention for the purpose of harmonizing domestic copyright law with international copyright standards. While use of a copyright notice and registration was once required as a condition of copyright protection in the United States, it is now optional, and a work is not necessarily in the public domain simply because it does not have a copyright notice.
For further discussion, see: Don't keep the public guessing: best practices in notice of copyright and term & conditions of use for government web site content (2004) by the CENDI Copyright & Intellectual Property Working Group.
Works of the United States federal government:
- United States Census Bureau – United States Bureau of the Census has an enormous range of facts and figures of Census data, often useful when fleshing out articles about cities and states
- CIA World Factbook – The World Factbook from the Central Intelligence Agency contains basic facts on all the countries of the world; however, the most recent data for some statistics may be up to several decades out of date.
- Background Notes from the United States Department of State include "facts about the land, people, history, government, political conditions, economy, and foreign relations of independent states, some dependencies, and areas of special sovereignty." State.gov copyright statement: "Unless a copyright is indicated, information on State Department websites is in the public domain and may be copied and distributed without permission. Citation of the U.S. State Department as source of the information is appreciated."
- Library of Congress Country Studies – Web version of the Library of Congress Country Studies, a series of works published from 1988 to 1998 by the Library of Congress's Federal Research Division. The Country Studies/Area Handbook Program was sponsored by the Department of the Army and at present includes 101 countries and regions. The copyright statement: "Information contained in the online Country Studies is not copyrighted and thus is available for free and unrestricted use by researchers. As a courtesy, however, appropriate credit should be given to the series."
- CIA World DataBank II – global outline map data (coastlines, rivers, national boundaries) in vector format, hosted by Dave Pape at the UIC Electronic Visualization Laboratory (but note that this dates back to 1972, so many national boundaries are out of date) Now (mostly?, entirely?) obsoleted by VMAP0, see below.
- VMAP0, a vector map of the world, an updated version of the National Imagery and Mapping Agency's (NIMA) Digital Chart of the World. See also the article VMAP0. [Note: the original NIMA data package distributes the public domain dataset with a small amount of copyrighted information provided as overlays: these should be filtered out if you are going to use this as a public domain resource]
- ETOPO2 – a whole-planet digital elevation model dataset with sample points a 2 arc minute intervals
- GTOPO30 – a whole-planet digital elevation model dataset with sample points at 30 arc second intervals – the data files can be found at https://web.archive.org/web/20111017031724/http://edcftp.cr.usgs.gov/pub/data/gtopo30/global/
- Blue Marble, a set of high-resolution cylindrical-projection raster images of the Earth derived from satellite data
- GEOnet Names Server – GEOnet Names Server (GNS) provides access to the National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency (NGA) and United States Board on Geographic Names (BGN) database of geographic feature names and locations for locations outside the United States. The database is the official repository of foreign place-name decisions approved by the BGN.
- DEMIS World Map Server generates maps using public domain data with no usage restrictions
- The National Map – The National Map (TNP), managed by the United States Geological Survey's National Geospatial Program (NGP).
- United States Geological Survey Geographic Names Information System claims to have almost 2 million physical and cultural geographic features within the United States
- National Archives and Records Administration – The official archive site of the federal government of the United States. This is a work of the US government.
- Biographical Directory of the United States Congress – The Biographical Directory of the United States Congress includes biographical information every individual who ever served in the Continental Congress or United States Congress. This is a work of the US government. The proper template is Template:Bioguide.
- Occupational Outlook Handbook – The Occupational Outlook Handbook, published by the United States Department of Labor's Bureau of Labor Statistics, contains descriptions of a great many occupations
- Uniformed services
- Multimedia from the United States Department of Defense, including thousands of news photos, photo essays, video clips, and other multimedia
- Army Media – United States Army images, audio, video and written content
- Photo collection from the United States Navy
- Video collection from the United States Navy
- AFLink Art Archive from the United States Air Force, including a searchable database of items such as Air Force posters, emblems and shields, historical records, cartoons and weapons]
- Photos from the United States Air Force
- Searchable photo bank from the United States Marine Corps
- Visual Information Gallery from the United States Coast Guard, including photos, graphics, video, audio, art, and leadership portraits
- FEMA Multimedia Photos, videos and audio from the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) official website
- EPA Newsroom records – Includes documents and multimedia
- Voice of America – All text, audio and video material produced exclusively by the Voice of America is public domain. However, some images and graphics are licensed for use and covered by all applicable copyright laws.
- Speeches and testimony of National Transportation Safety Board board members and staff
- Publications of the Headquarters, United States Army Corps of Engineers – Included are United States Army Corps of Engineers records such as engineering manuals, pamphlets, design guides, and standards.
- Publications Index of the Bureau of Reclamation, including Hydraulic Laboratory Reports, research reports, and engineering manuals and monographs
- Image search on search.usa.gov
- Federal Information Processing Standards home page
- Department of Defense Single Stock Point for Military Specifications, Standards and Related Publications (DODSSP) – see also United States Military Standard
- NIST Data Gateway – Access to National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) scientific and technical data.
- Catalog of US Government Publications – From the US Government Printing Office
- Sound from the United States Fish and Wildlife Service [dead link]; copyright statement: "The following sound clips are public domain and may be used without prior permission. If possible, please credit the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service."
This article incorporates public domain material from The World Factbook (2025 ed.). CIA.
