Title 15, Commerce and TradeRelease 119-102
§290e United States Copyright and Renewal Rights
Title 15 › CHAPTER 7A — STANDARD REFERENCE DATA PROGRAM › § 290e
Summary
Even with other limits in title 17, the Secretary can get and renew copyrights for any or part of standard reference data the Secretary prepares or makes available under this chapter, and can let others reproduce or publish that material. If the Government publishes or republishes copyrighted material under this chapter, that does not cancel the copyright or let people use it without the copyright owner's permission.
Full Legal Text
Title 15, §290e
Commerce and Trade, Source: USLM XML via OLRC
(a)Notwithstanding the limitations under section 105 of title 17, the Secretary may secure copyright and renewal thereof on behalf of the United States as author or proprietor in all or any part of any standard reference data which he prepares or makes available under this chapter, and may authorize the reproduction and publication thereof by others.
(b)The publication or republication by the Government under this chapter, either separately or in a public document, of any material in which copyright is subsisting shall not be taken to cause any abridgment or annulment of the copyright or to authorize any use or appropriation of such material without the consent of the copyright proprietor.
Legislative History
Notes & Related Subsidiaries
Editorial Notes
Amendments
2002—Subsec. (a). Pub. L. 107–273, § 13211(b)(2), substituted “Notwithstanding the limitations under section 105 of title 17,” for “Notwithstanding the limitations contained in section 105 of title 17,”. Pub. L. 107–273, § 13211(b)(1), made technical amendment to directory language of Pub. L. 94–553. See 1976 Amendment note below. 1976—Subsec. (a). Pub. L. 94–553, as amended by Pub. L. 107–273, § 13211(b)(1), substituted “section 105 of title 17” for “section 8 of title 17”.
Statutory Notes and Related Subsidiaries
Effective Date
of 1976 AmendmentAmendment by Pub. L. 94–553 effective Jan. 1, 1978, see section 102 of Pub. L. 94–553, set out as an
Effective Date
note preceding section 101 of Title 17, Copyrights.
Reference
Citations & Metadata
Citation
15 U.S.C. § 290e
Title 15, Commerce and Trade
Last Updated
Aug 21, 2026
Release point: 119-102