But don't they still have copyright on the headnotes?
Lynn Connor Merring
Kelley Drye & Warren LLP
777 S. Figueroa St., Suite 2700
Los Angeles CA 90017
213-688-8220
> -----Original Message-----
> From: David Selden [SMTP:dselden@narf.org]
> Sent: Wednesday, June 02, 1999 10:58 AM
> To: Michaelson, Melanie; 'Mecklenberg, Lisa'; law-lib@ucdavis.edu
> Subject: Re: Reporter copyright question
>
> I question whether permission is really needed in light of the recent U.S.
> Supreme Court decision upholding the court of appeals decision involving
> West.
>
> See message below...
>
> U.S. Supreme Court Rejects West's Copyright Appeal
> WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The U.S. Supreme Court rejected Tuesday a West
> Publishing Co. appeal of a ruling that the Thomson Corp. subsidiary was
> not
> entitled to copyright protection for its database of judicial opinions.
>
> The high court's action, without comment or dissent, was a victory for
> Matthew Bender & Co. Inc., a subsidiary of Reed International Plc. and
> Elsevier NV, and for HyperLaw Inc., both of which publish opinions on
> CD-ROM discs.
>
> The case was brought by West against HyperLaw and Matthew Bender & Co.,
> alleging the two companies infringed on West's copyright protection when
> they scanned U.S. Supreme Court and federal appeals court rulings directly
> from West publications.
>
> West, the legal publishing giant based in Eagan, Minn., compiles judicial
> opinions from around the country, summarizes them and adds its own system
> of page citations.
>
> A federal judge in New York and then a U.S. appeals court ruled that West
> does not enjoy copyright protection in this particular case.
>
> The appeals court held that publishers who compile court opinions on
> CD-ROM
> do not violate copyright laws when they use what is known as ``star
> pagination,'' referencing the page numbers used by West. West's page
> numbers are the standard citation reference widely required by courts.
>
> In appealing to the Supreme Court, West said the case involved ``one of
> the
> most important copyright issues of the information era.''
>
> It said the appeals court ruling has provided would-be infringers of
> copyrighted compilations with complete insulation from liability as long
> as
> they make their copy available digitally.
>
> ``In this case, a copyrighted arrangement -- West's original arrangement
> of
> case reports in numerous copyrighted compilations -- has been denied
> protection from electronic copying,'' the company said.
>
> West also sought review of the appeals court decision to deny copyright
> protection to its editorial additions and revisions in adapting judicial
> opinions into its volumes of compiled case reports.
>
> Attorneys for Matthew Bender & Co. urged the Supreme Court to grant review
> and summarily affirm the appeals court ruling.
>
> The Justice Department did not file any briefs before the Supreme Court,
> but its head of the antitrust division, Joel Klein, said the appeals court
> ruling will lead to increased competition and lower prices in the legal
> publishing market.
> From: Michaelson, Melanie <MMichaelson@JacksCamp.com>
> To: 'Mecklenberg, Lisa' <Lmecklenberg@state.mt.us>; 'law-lib@ucdavis.edu'
> <law-lib@ucdavis.edu>
> Date: Wednesday, June 02, 1999 10:29 AM
> Subject: RE: Reporter copyright question
>
>
> >I had to do this once and yes you need permission. I called the general
> >West Number and they connected me to someone in their legal department.
> >They required information such as the name of the class, the school,
> >etc.
> >
> >Melanie Michaelson
> >Librarian
> >Jackson & Campbell, P.C.
> >1120 20th Street, N.W.
> >Washington, D.C. 20036
> >Phone: 202-457-1643
> >Fax: 202-457-1678
> >Mmichaelson@jackscamp.com
> >
> >
> > -----Original Message-----
> > From: Mecklenberg, Lisa [SMTP:Lmecklenberg@state.mt.us]
> > Sent: Wednesday, June 02, 1999 12:07 PM
> > To: 'law-lib@ucdavis.edu'
> > Subject: Reporter copyright question
> >
> > Hello all,
> >
> > I should probably know the answer to this already but... I've
> >been
> > contacted by a teacher who wants to copy about 20 cases out of
> >various West
> > Reporters for a class of approximately 30 students. She is
> >wondering if she
> > needs to get copyright permission from West to do this. Does
> >she? And if
> > so, does anyone have any specific contact information for this
> >besides the
> > generic West phone number?
> >
> > As always--thanks.
> >
> > Lisa
> >
> > ----------------------------------
> > Lisa Mecklenberg
> > Electronic Services Librarian
> > State Law Library of Montana
> > Justice Building, 215 N. Sanders
> > Helena, MT 59620-3004
> > (406) 444-9285--phone
> > (406) 444-3603--fax
> > lmecklenberg@state.mt.us
> >
> > ( o o )
> > +-------------.oooO--(_)--Oooo.--------------+
> > | Visit the |
> > | State Law Library of Montana Webpage |
> > | http://www.lawlibrary.state.mt.us |
> > | .oooO |
> > | ( ) Oooo. |
> > +---------------\ (----( )-----------------+
> > \_) ) /
> >
> >
> >
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