''Pub. Affairs Associates, Inc. v. Rickover'', 369 U.S. 111 (1962), was a
United States Supreme Court
The Supreme Court of the United States (SCOTUS) is the highest court in the federal judiciary of the United States. It has ultimate appellate jurisdiction over all U.S. federal court cases, and over state court cases that turn on question ...
case in which the Court held that the circuit court's decision should be vacated because the facts of the case were too unclear. Remanded to district court to create an "adequate and full-bodied record.".
The case concerned whether or not speeches written by
Admiral
Admiral is one of the highest ranks in many navies. In the Commonwealth nations and the United States, a "full" admiral is equivalent to a "full" general in the army or the air force. Admiral is ranked above vice admiral and below admiral of ...
Hyman G. Rickover
Hyman G. Rickover (27 January 1900 – 8 July 1986) was an admiral in the United States Navy. He directed the original development of naval nuclear propulsion and controlled its operations for three decades as director of the U.S. Naval Reacto ...
in the course of his duties to the
federal government of the United States
The Federal Government of the United States of America (U.S. federal government or U.S. government) is the Federation#Federal governments, national government of the United States.
The U.S. federal government is composed of three distinct ...
were copyrightable. Generally, works of the United States government are not. The case spent nine years in litigation.
After the case was passed back to a district court, the
Register of Copyrights
The Register of Copyrights is the director of the United States Copyright Office within the Library of Congress, as provided by . The Office has been headed by a Register since 1897. The Register is appointed by, and responsible to, the Librar ...
, the
Librarian of Congress
The librarian of Congress is the head of the Library of Congress, appointed by the president of the United States with the advice and consent of the United States Senate, for a term of ten years. The librarian of Congress also appoints and overs ...
, the
Secretary of the Navy
The Secretary of the Navy (SECNAV) is a statutory officer () and the head (chief executive officer) of the Department of the Navy, a military department within the United States Department of Defense. On March 25, 2025, John Phelan was confirm ...
, the
Secretary of Defence, and the
Atomic Energy Commissioners were all added as defendants. The court ruled in Admiral Rickover's and their favor, saying that speechwriting should be considered "private business from start to finish."
/ref>
See also
* Public Affairs Press
Public Affairs Press ( – mid-1980s) was a book publisher in Washington, D.C., owned and often edited by Morris Bartel Schnapper (1912–1999).
History
According to notional successor Peter Osnos of the 1997-founded PublicAffairs: For f ...
References
External links
*
1962 in United States case law
United States copyright case law
United States Supreme Court cases
United States Supreme Court cases of the Warren Court
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