[tz] leap_second.list not updated after latest IERS Bulletin C

[Paul Eggert]

On 2023-12-08 11:58, Brooks Harris via tz wrote:
> anything from IERS must be public domain, isn't it? How 
> is it not?

It’s published in France and French law does not recognize the US notion 
of public domain. The French “domaine public” is more restrictive than 
the US notion, and as I understand things if published in France the 
file cannot be domaine public anyway; that can happen only 70 years 
after publication.

The IERS version lacks a copyright notice, and it’s not clear who holds 
the copyright or under what terms TZDB could legally reproduce the file. 
The copyright holder might be the IERS, the Paris Observatory, Paris 
Sciences et Lettres University, the Ministry of National Education, or 
some other body. A while ago I asked for a proper copyright notice to be 
added, to clarify rights and establish permissions, but this has not 
gotten anywhere presumably because the people in charge of the IERS 
version are busy and don’t think this is important.

Given the legal uncertainty it’s safer for TZDB to not copy the IERS 
version.