west page numbers

Sender: law-lib-request[_at_]ucdavis.edu
Date: Wed, 5 Jan 1994 19:52:24 -0800 (PST) From: "E. Scott Wetzel" <eswetzel[_at_]cyberspace.com> Subject: Copyright in pagination
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        Earlier postings have referred to West Publishing's complaint against On Point Solutions in the US District Court in Atlanta. The complaint seeks damages and an injunction for alleged misappropriation of plaintiff West's Florida case reports published in West's "Southern Reporter" (see civil action no. 1 93 CV 2071). West alleges that On Point scanned its books, "including all of the copyrighted elements of the books, and created an infringing CD-ROM database which they then marketed and sold to third parties in violation of federal and state laws". The defendant claims it removed West's headnotes, key numbers, and synopses.

        Whatever the factual merits of this case, it is interesting to note that West is also claiming copyright in the volume and page numbers of its reports. Paragraph 16 of the complaint reads as follows:

    Each volume of West's NRS publications includes a copyright notice   and contains material wholly original to West including, without   limitation, the editorial enhancements to each case report as specified   in paragraph 10, and the selection, coordination and arrangement of cases   reported therein, *including the numbering and paging of volumes which   reflect that arrangement*. (Emphasis added.)

        I think this particular claim deserves attention from the legal community. It is one thing to claim copyright in the headnotes and case synopses, and quite another to seek copyright protection in pagination. This is especially so where the publisher is the sole source of a primary legal publication (for example, the F.2d and F. Supp. volumes).

         If West is again successful on this narrow issue, see West v. Mead Data Central, 799 F.2d 1219 (8th Cir., 1986), we may never see a competing CD-ROM or online version of federal case law that contains what I feel is essential pagination information. Any thoughts on this? Does the ability to cite effectively to the print product matter in an electronic version?

	Scott Wetzel
	eswetzel[_at_]cyberspace.com


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