Source: http://copyright.lib.harvard.edu/states/south_carolina/
Timestamp: 2019-04-20 09:21:35+00:00

Document:
South Carolina is the most recent state to hear a case on the copyright status of state government documents. In Seago v. Horry Cnty., 378 S.C. 414, 423, 663 S.E.2d 38, 43 (2008), a South Carolina court decided to follow the lead of New York, and held that the County in the case could hold a copyright in their mapping data, and that they could require licensing for subsequent commercial use of the maps if requested under the state Freedom of Information Act.
The South Carolina Freedom of Information Act was first adopted in 1974 and may be found at S.C. Code Ann. § 30-4-10.
A records request for motor vehicle records requires the requestor to state the purpose of the request. S.C. Code Ann. § 56-3-510. Additionally, several statutes prohibit the use of records for commercial solicitation. See S.C. Code Ann. § 30-4-40(a)(2) (names and telephone numbers of handicapped persons); S.C. Code Ann. § 30-4-50(B); S.C. Code Ann. § 30-2-50. Furthermore, the court in Seago v. Horry County determined that licensing restrictions were appropriate for the subsequent use of county records.
The South Carolina State Library says that, "Records, documents and information made available by the agencies of South Carolina state government or its subdivisions are the property of the people of the state of South Carolina. Therefore, the South Carolina State Library considers these items to be in the public domain according to US copyright law (see Title 17, U.S.C.)."
Reporters Committee for Freedom of the Press, Open Government Guide: Access to Public Records and Meetings in South Carolina, available at http://www.rcfp.org/rcfp/orders/docs/ogg/SC.pdf.
South Carolina State Library, available at http://www.statelibrary.sc.gov/.
South Carolina Department of Archives and History, available at http://scdah.sc.gov/Pages/default.aspx.
South Carolina Press Association, Freedom of Information Act, available at http://www.scpress.org/foia.html.
Seago v. Horry Cnty., 378 S.C. 414, 423, 663 S.E.2d 38, 43 (2008), available at https://scholar.google.com/scholar_case?case=12877392669401300528.
S.C. Code Ann. § 30-4-10, available at http://www.scstatehouse.gov/code/t30c004.PHP.
S.C. Code Ann. § 56-3-510, available at http://www.scstatehouse.gov/code/t56c003.php.
S.C. Code Ann. § 30-4-40, available at http://www.scstatehouse.gov/code/t30c004.PHP.
S.C. Code Ann. § 30-4-50, available at http://www.scstatehouse.gov/code/t30c004.PHP.
S.C. Code Ann. § 30-2-50, available at http://www.scstatehouse.gov/code/t30c002.php.
S.C. Code Ann. § 59-150-60, available at http://www.scstatehouse.gov/code/t59c150.php.
S.C. Code Ann. § 13-1-350, available at http://www.scstatehouse.gov/code/t13c001.php.
South Carolina State Library, Statement of Rights, available at http://www.statelibrary.sc.gov/statement-of-rights.

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