Re: copyright in legal documents

On Tue, 26 Oct 1999, Don Roemer <droe2[_at_]earthlink.net> wrote:
>
> In my state ANYTHING filed in the public record is not only open
> to view but can lawfully be copied per the law and state constitution.

Not quite. Copyright law is federal law, and is supreme to any state law.

> Let's assume that a recently written and formally registered manuscript
> was made part of the court record. How does the law reconcile making
> copies of court files that contains material under copyright protection?

In short, it does not invalidate the federal copyright. If the copying were for the purpose of defending the lawsuit, then perhaps that would be fair use, but not necessarily.

> And how does it deal with folks republishing all the data found within
> the file (public record) on Web sites and in other media?

Just because someone takes a work and puts it on the web does not mean that the work was properly placed on the web. If that action was done without right, then there is infringement.

Can you see what a crazy world it would be if the law acted otherwise. For example, I decide I like Mark Lemley's new book, so I file a frivolous lawsuit in small claims court here in Massachusetts. Costs $19 to file. I file a copy of his book as an attachment to my filing. Then I have a friend go down to the courthouse, copy the manuscript, and publish it for profit. My friend defends by saying that the work was an exhibit to a lawsuit, and could be freely copied. Mark would have his attorney on my doorstep with a Federal lawsuit, and I would lose. Same as to the "friend". As I should. Mark, this is a hypothetical, I like your work, but would never infringe as above.

Tom Workman
<tworkman[_at_]erols.com> Received on Thu Oct 28 1999 - 14:37:21 GMT