Small victory

The law is not for sale

Supremes say the law is public domain

On 27 April 2020, the United States Supreme Court ruled that the state of Georgia can’t claim copyright over its laws. Many companies make a fortune printing legal codes, providing online access the the laws, and they don’t want to give up that gravy train.

So, when Carl Malamud posted a copy of the annotated codes on his server, public.resource.org. Lexis Nexus and the state of Georgia sued. Under the agreement with the state of Georgia, Lexis Nexus sells the annotated codes for $412 per copy, and the state of Georgia gets a cut. And hurled a sue-ball when Carl Malamud cut out the middle man.

In a victory for everyman, the Supremes said, “Nuh-uh!”

Read the whole story at Reason