Legal Question in Constitutional Law in Missouri

copyright of speeches

What is the copyright status of an Inaugural Address by J. F. Kennedy or the ''I Have A Dream'' speech by Dr. M. L. King?


Asked on 6/23/03, 3:00 pm

1 Answer from Attorneys

Donald G. Rehkopf, Jr. Brenna, Brenna & Boyce, PLLC

Re: copyright of speeches

The King speech is copyrighted by the "King Foundation," the last I checked. If your intended use is non-commercial, educational, they will probably grant you permission to use it, otherwise if it's for any type of commercial enterprise, you'll have to negotiate with them.

Cannot answer the Kennedy question without research. Generally governmental speeches are not copyrightable as they are in the "public domain." Check with the reference Librarian at the U.S. Library of Congress - they should be able to help you.

Don Rehkopf

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Answered on 6/23/03, 4:02 pm


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