Public Affairs Associates, Inc. v. Rickover/Dissent Harlan

Mr. Justice HARLAN, dissenting.

The basic issue which brought these cases here was whether Admiral Rickover's speeches were copyrightable in light of the following provision of the Copyright Act: 'No copyright shall subsist in * *  * any publication of the United States Government.' (17 U.S.C. § 8, 17 U.S.C.A. § 8.) As I see it, decision of that issue turns not merely on whether such speeches were made by the Admiral in the 'line of duty,' but also, and in my view more fundamentally, on whether such speeches were in any event 'publication(s) of the United States Government.' In my opinion the record is sufficient to require adjudication on both aspects of that issue, and on this phase of the controversy I agree with the result reached by the Court of Appeals. I also agree with its determination as to the adequacy of the copyright notice affixed to speeches delivered after December 1, 1958.

However, I consider the record inadequate to justify adjudication as to whether Admiral Rickover's right to copyright was lost with respect to speeches delivered before December 1, 1958, by reason of their alleged entry into 'the public domain.' As to that issue I would vacate the judgment of the Court of Appeals and remand the case to the District Court for further proceedings. In all other respects I would affirm the judgment below.