Re: copyright in legal documents

On Thu, Oct 28, 1999, Bob Stock <bstock[_at_]mindspring.com> wrote:
>
> On 10/26/99, Don Roemer <droe2[_at_]earthlink.net> wrote:
> >
> > A short time later my client sues for breach. It is widely reported
> > in the news. Because of the publicity, 14 dozen folks descend on the
> > courthouse to get a copy of the case file from the clerk. The file
> > contains the contract (with a claim of copyright by the original lawyer
> > posted in it) can the author (whomever that may turn out to be) sue the
> > clerk of court?
>
> Yeah, but we all know that states and their agencies are immune from
> such suit. :-) And I certainly hope that all you authors have
> registered your copyrights before the infringement occurs.

Is the law clear - are county and city agencies immune as states are?  

> > 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.
> > 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?
> > And how does it deal with folks republishing all the data found within
> > the file (public record) on Web sites and in other media?
>
> It doesn't. We've had these discussions before. No one sues.

Don't be so certian. The Clerk in question is hated. She charges more for a document than anyone else in the state (her interpretation of the public records law is different), she is hated by our county commission. I can see where a loser in a suit may file against her just to recover costs lost in the case (via a copyright suit). And once in a while you get folks with more time and money than the average client and who love tilting at windmills.

Don Roemer
<droe2[_at_]earthlink.net> Received on Sat Oct 30 1999 - 15:01:29 GMT