House Rule V.2(c) - wise? enforceable?

I previously posted about Speaker Pelosi's apparent violation of House Rule V.2(c) [pdf, p. 6], which prohibits use of the television feeds of debate on the House floor for "political purposes." At the time, I declined to comment on the rule's wisdom, because I think it is a very separate question. As Speaker of the House, one of Rep. Pelosi's foremost duties is to enforce its Rules, and I think she has violated them with her use of the feed for a partisan, political blog.

But that's not to say that the rule in question is wise or generally enforceable. It is enforceable against the Speaker, as it is against any Member of the House. They are subject to its Rules and may be held accountable, through the processes established in the Rules, for violating them.

But it is equally true that the Rules are binding on no one else. Candidates for the House, or for any other office, are not subject to the Rules of the House. Only statutes passed by both chambers and signed by the President can bind members of the public.

Copyright holders may control how their work is used by attaching conditions to any license they grant to use the work. The Rolling Stones may allow "Start Me Up" to be played at entertainment functions, but prohibit its use in any commercial (until paid Gates-level money, obviously). But there is no copyright available on the floor broadcasts. They are produced by the House of Representatives itself, so nobody else (like C-Span) owns the copyright, but neither the House nor the government generally have a copyright, either, because works of the U.S. government are not subject to copyright. 17 USC sec. 105 provides:

§ 105. Subject matter of copyright: United States Government works

Copyright protection under this title is not available for any work of the United States Government, but the United States Government is not precluded from receiving and holding copyrights transferred to it by assignment, bequest, or otherwise.

"A work of the United States Government" is defined in section 101:

A “work of the United States Government” is a work prepared by an officer or employee of the United States Government as part of that person's official duties.

Thus, there is no copyright available on the floor broadcasts, because they were prepared as part of the official duties of an officer or employee of the United States Government. Without a copyright, there is no statutory mechanism to enforce the use limitations set forth in House Rule V.2(c).

As a practical matter, then, my conclusion is that the limitation is unwise. It prohibits the political use of the broadcasts by incumbents but not by challengers. Worse, it purports to do something (limit the rights of non-House users of the broadcasts) which it has no right to do. This undermines respect for the law and the institutions of the House. Finally, once the broadcasts are out there, not subject to copyright, restricting them from political use treads dangerously close to violating the First Amendment as being a content-based restriction on speech.