Carl Malamud and Public.Resource.org Not Sued by State of California

Correction. In an email to me, Carl Malmud has said that Public.Resource.org has not been sued by the State of California. Although the State has asserted copyright on the California Code of Regulations, and Public.Resource.org has scanned and posted the CCR, no one from the State has contacted the company. Sorry about the misinformation. [JH]

One of our favorite public access activists Carl Malamud is being sued for copyright infringement by the State of California for posting the California Code of Regulations on Public.Resource.org. "We exercise our copyright to benefit the people of California," Linda Brown, deputy director of California's Office of Administrative Law. Quoted in California seeks compensation for posting laws online.

Can states copyright their own publications? Probably not but federal copyright laws do not apply to states. Malamud plans to fight for the Public Domain and we should support him. Hat tip to Legal Research Plus. [JH]