For what it's worth, typically laws are interpreted against being retroactive. What that means is that unless a law specifically says that it applies retroactively (and doing that can make a law run afoul of constitutional rules sometimes) it usually doesn't. So this is really worrisome, but mostly going forward rather than to existing documents. 

Also, for the legislature, I'm not following them closely, but the California State Assembly Calendar has a deadline listed in June for them to vote on bill introduced in that house before the summer recess, then another deadline in August before the fall recess. 

On Mon, May 16, 2016 at 9:41 PM, Mike Linksvayer <ml@gondwanaland.com> wrote:
On 05/15/2016 08:07 PM, John P. Sadowski wrote:
> That is quite troubling, given that the committee approvals were
> near-unanimous.  Is it possible that the bill could be interpreted
> to apply retroactively, meaning we'd have to remove those 1048 items?

I don't see anything retroactive in the text, but I also don't see
anything that would strictly prohibit state agencies and local
governments from treating previous publications as subject to copyright.

I see that User:Gazebo has posted at
https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/Commons:Village_pump/Copyright#Proposed_law_in_California_to_extend_copyright_to_CA_state_and_local_government_works
to no discussion yet.

> Any idea when the bill comes up with a vote?  Wikimedia DC could
> possibly draft and send a letter giving Wikimedia-specific examples,
> or we could work with the Foundation legal team to do so.

I don't know when it can be expected to come up for a vote. I should
know more about California lawmaking than I do, which is almost nothing.
I've copied wikimedia-sf; maybe some local California government maven
lurks there and could say.

Mike


>> On May 15, 2016, at 9:47 PM, Mike Linksvayer <ml@gondwanaland.com> wrote:
>>
>> https://www.eff.org/deeplinks/2016/04/ab-2880 "California's Legislature
>> Wants to Copyright All Government Works"
>>
>> More background at
>> https://www.techdirt.com/articles/20160417/09213934197/california-assembly-looks-to-push-cities-to-copyright-trademark-everything-they-can.shtml
>>
>> According to http://copyright.lib.harvard.edu/states/ California is one
>> of the three most "open" regarding government works. Presumably it won't
>> be anymore if AB 2880 becomes law.
>>
>> California is one of only two U.S. states with a category under
>> https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/Category:Public_domain_by_government
>> -- https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/Category:PD_California (1048 items).
>>
>> I haven't investigated whether and how many of those items would be
>> subject to copyright had AB 2880 been California law at the times of
>> their publication.
>>
>> Skimming the bill's changes to present law at
>> https://leginfo.legislature.ca.gov/faces/billCompareClient.xhtml?bill_id=201520160AB2880
>> it seems the one or two maybe dangerous additions are these:
>>
>>> A public entity may own, license, and, if it deems it appropriate,
>>> formally register intellectual property it creates or otherwise
>>> acquires.
>>
>> The assembly's analysis views this as a clarification, but it could open
>> the door to widespread use (or copyright apologists would say, abuse) of
>> copyright by local government, as the EFF says, "to chill speech, stifle
>> open government, and harm the public domain."
>>
>>> (A) A state agency shall not enter into a contract under this
>>> article that waives the state’s intellectual property rights unless
>>> the state agency, prior to execution of the contract, obtains the
>>> consent of the department to the waiver.
>>>
>>> (B) An attempted waiver of the state’s intellectual property rights
>>> by a state agency that violates subparagraph (A) shall be deemed
>>> void as against public policy.
>>
>> It is not clear to me whether this addition might serve as a barrier to
>> agencies deciding to publish material under open licenses. In the
>> meantime, I assume it will foster such barriers in practice.
>>
>> https://twitter.com/mitchstoltz/status/731282363674562560 says "[EFF]'ll
>> probably issue an action alert, but meantime, call your state assembly
>> member's office & ask them to oppose."
>>
>> If this is indeed a threat, I wonder if there's anything Wikimedians can
>> do to oppose it, in addition to those of us in California calling our
>> state assembly members?
>>
>> Mike
>>
>> _______________________________________________
>> Publicpolicy mailing list
>> Publicpolicy@lists.wikimedia.org
>> https://lists.wikimedia.org/mailman/listinfo/publicpolicy
>
> _______________________________________________
> Publicpolicy mailing list
> Publicpolicy@lists.wikimedia.org
> https://lists.wikimedia.org/mailman/listinfo/publicpolicy
>


_______________________________________________
Publicpolicy mailing list
Publicpolicy@lists.wikimedia.org
https://lists.wikimedia.org/mailman/listinfo/publicpolicy



--

Jacob Rogers
Legal Counsel
Wikimedia Foundation

NOTICE: This message might have confidential or legally privileged information in it. If you have received this message by accident, please delete it and let us know about the mistake. As an attorney for the Wikimedia Foundation, for legal/ethical reasons I cannot give legal advice to, or serve as a lawyer for, community members, volunteers, or staff members in their personal capacity. For more on what this means, please see our legal disclaimer.