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South Dakota Governor Kristi Noem has published a copyrighted video along with a copyrighted memorial day message to at least two social media sites regarding Memorial Day 2020. Under Berne Convention, the copyrights most likely belong to the State of South Dakota. See notes at end of Article.
This Memorial Day, let’s take a moment to say “thank you” to the brave men and women who sacrificed themselves so that we can live in the greatest country ever.
Let’s honor them by holding them in our memories and fighting to preserve the freedoms that they died to defend. pic.twitter.com/u5j7st5rK2
— Governor Kristi Noem (@govkristinoem) May 25, 2020
One of the most requested accommodations from retired of the Retired US Armed Forces Member who have entered the civilian world after completing the VA T.A.P. is to allow members of the US Armed Forces to choose their own Federal Holidays. The Federal Government normally allows 26 business days off per year. 10 business days for vacation, 5 business days for sick time, and 11 Federal Holidays.
Some Federal Holidays are religious such as Christmas and Christmas Eve. They are Christian or Catholic holidays and some members of the US Armed Forces would prefer to celebrate the Winter Solstice, Hanukkah, Yule, etc. during the winter or not celebrate any holidays at all but not be penalized and have the option to use that day off for something else.
They are also not always excited about celebrating Martin Luther King, Jr.'s Birthday, George Washington's Birthday or Columbus. Birthdays are a form of worship or self worship and are objectionable to many people on religious grounds which is covered by the 1st amendment.
A reasonable list of Federal Holidays for a Retired US Armed Forces Member might look like the following list:
This is a potential list of Federal Holidays that are US Armed Forces oriented. The idea is that Retired US Armed Forces Members would be able to choose 11 holidays from this list. It would also be possible for people who are not Retired US Armed Forces Members to request the day off to celebrate with their family. Reserve Armed Forces Members would be treated on a case by case basis depending on their schedules and assigned duties but should be approved if the request is not made last minute.
Retired US Armed Forces Members also wanted to communicate that this list should be able to be combined with a list of verified religious holidays or cultural celebrations such as Native American Day, Martin Luther King, Jr. Birthday or the Birthday of a favorite president. This would be the most respectful way to implement Federal Holidays and honor the 1st amendment of the US Constitution.
This post/article is written in Honor of Memorial Day as a Thank You to the US Armed Forces.
The Berne Convention applies to Government Works unless Government Works are excluded from the Berne Convention legislatively. As an example the UK Government has a Crown Copyright but makes some Crown Copyright data available to the public for commercial or personal use through the UK Open Government License.
The UK Open Government License is applied to Crown Copyright on a case by case basis and can be modified or rescinded, it does not automatically apply to all Crown Copyrights.
Notes on Government Copyright and the Berne Convention Treaty
https://www.joshuacuellar.net/blog/government/2020/05/government-owned-copyrights
UK Government Licensing Framework
https://www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/information-management/re-using-public-sector-information/uk-government-licensing-framework/