Not all government content is in the public domain.

An example in the U.S. would be electrical, fire, and plumbing codes. State and local governments generally "adopt" a commercially-produced code, then add local additions.

The basic code is NOT in the public-domain, and tradesmen must pay some pretty hefty fees for these books.

It's a bizarre case, but one where you have to pay somebody to read the law.

The only way to judge is to know and interpret the law that applies, and/or ask the specific agency whose publications you want to copy.

The BBC is not a government publication; and if it were it would mostly likely be crown copyright.

In the United States, unlike most countries, any work actually produced by the government is in the public domain. But that does not mean that every work that you find on their websites is free of copyright.

In addition to the example about the building codes mentioned above, I know that the forest service holds photography contests where the winners are published in their magazine and on their website. The pictures retain their copyrights, because they were not produced by the government.

In the United States, unlike most countries, any work actually produced by the government is in the public domain. But that does not mean that every work that you find on their websites is free of copyright.

In addition to the example about the building codes mentioned above, I know that the forest service holds photography contests where the winners are published in their magazine and on their website. The pictures retain their copyrights, because they were not produced by the government.

That's what I'm wondering. Does it mean that in U.S. herself, the ordinance applies to copyrighted works of other country's government? Let say, if I'm going to publish the content produced by Japanese government in U.S. server, is it legal to do it in United States?

Most government material is paid for with U.S. tax dollars, which puts most of it in the public domain. I am not copyright lawyer, but my guess would be is that if you wanted to push the issue anything that was paid for with tax dollars, i.e. pretty much everything is free to use. The problem is that most people lack the resources, knowledge, or legal muscle to prove this in some cases and simply pay fees to use things that they have already paid for with taxes.

However I do know you can go to www.pueblo.gsa/gov and check it out. It is a huge library of public domain material that you can use. I have raided this stock pile of very well written and designed material a few times to develop "bait pieces" for my marketing campaigns.

Thanks! www.pueblo.gsa.gov is really a great source of public domain! Do you know more sites that offer public domain content?

If it is copyrighted by the other government, it is considered copyrighted in the United States. The U.S. laws only put the products of the U.S. federal government into the public domain. They do not put the works of any other body, including foreign, state or local governments into the public domain.

How do we judge if it's public domain or not?

You don't assume, you check. Look for a © copyright symbol, or check the "about us" type of pages and see what the policy of the site/organisation is. If you are unsure, make contact with the organisation whose content you would like to use and just ask.

The Crown Copyright statement on the UK's Foreign and Commonwealth Office declares:

Copyright

Material featured on this site is subject to Crown copyright protection unless otherwise indicated. The Crown copyright protected material may be reproduced free of charge in any format or medium provided it is reproduced accurately and not used in a misleading context, except the designs, graphics, logos, FCO crest, maps and the travel advice notices. Where any of the Crown copyright items on this site are republished or copied to others, the source of the material must be identified and the copyright status acknowledged.

The copyright notice on the USA's Department of Justice reads:

Copyright Status and Citation

Information generated by the Department of Justice is in the public domain and may be reproduced, published or otherwise used without the Department’s permission. Citation to the Department of Justice as the source of the information is appreciated, as appropriate. The use of any Department of Justice seals, however, is protected and requires advance authorization, as described below. With respect to materials generated by entities outside of the Department of Justice, permission to copy these materials, if necessary, must be obtained from the original source. For information on materials generated by external entities with Department of Justice funding, please refer to individual component policies. This copyright notice only pertains to the Department of Justice Web site.

It's taken me about a minute to find both of these copyright statements. It's not difficult to check...

Syzygy

Crown copyright right is something new to me.

I'm wondering if it's up to a civil servant or gov't organization to decide to use crown copyright. Let say, although BBC is funded by public money, they reserve all copyright on their website.

From: [bbc.co.uk...]
4. All copyright, trade marks, design rights, patents and other intellectual property rights (registered and unregistered) in and on bbc.co.uk and all content (including all applications) located on the site shall remain vested in the BBC or its licensors (which includes other users). You may not copy, reproduce, republish, disassemble, decompile, reverse engineer, download, post, broadcast, transmit, make available to the public, or otherwise use bbc.co.uk content in any way except for your own personal, non-commercial use. You also agree not to adapt, alter or create a derivative work from any bbc.co.uk content except for your own personal, non-commercial use. Any other use of bbc.co.uk content requires the prior written permission of the BBC.

From the Office of Public Sector Information (OPSI):

What is Crown copyright?

Copyright material which is produced by employees of the Crown in the course of their duties. Therefore, most material originated by ministers and civil servants is protected by Crown copyright.

What is our role in managing Crown copyright?

The Director of OPSI in her role as Queen’s Printer has been appointed by Her Majesty the Queen to manage all copyrights owned by the Crown on Her Majesty’s behalf. OPSI’s Information Policy team licenses on the Queen’s Printers behalf.

Crown copyright material originated by the Scottish Administration is managed by the Queen’s Printer for Scotland (QPS). The Information Policy team of the Office of the QPS licenses on the QPS’ behalf.

[opsi.gov.uk...]

The BBC is not a governmental organisation and thus Crown Copyright is not applicable. Rather, it operates under a Royal Charter and is funded (in part) by the licence fee, the "tax" levied on all households and premises with a television. The BBC, like any organisation or individual, is free to set it's own terms as far copyright is concerned.

Syzygy

Further you can obtain at PSI licence at no cost

A PSI Licence covers certain Crown copyright and Public Sector Information.

Further information here
[opsi.gov.uk...]

It takes 2 minutes to do over the web.