Accessibility of United States state law

In the United States, some state governments and legal publishers claim copyright of public laws or certain publications of public laws. It has long been established that edicts of government are not to be subject to copyright protection in the U.S., but copyright protection for the selection and arrangement of published law may remain possible, at least in some jurisdictions.[1][2] The primary incentive for state governments is the ability to charge for copies of the law or legal annotations. This is a list of the hindrances to accessibility, copyright or otherwise, on the legal codes of U.S. states.

Notable incidents

Georgia, 2015

In July 2015, Georgia sued activist Carl Malamud of Public.Resource.org for distributing "The Official Code of Georgia Annotated," asserting copyright over the laws.[3]

Oregon, 2008

In April 2008, Oregon asked Justia to remove copies of the Oregon code from its website, citing that the particular publication of the law, as distinguished by features like introductory paragraphs and page numbers, was copyrighted. Following negative media attention, the state issued a special waiver promising not to enforce the copyright against Justia or Public.Resource.org, but did not change its policies regarding the accessibility of its laws to others.[4]

List of copyright claims on primary sources of law by state

Alabama

"The Code of Alabama 1975© The State of Alabama 2001 is updated on the ALISON site only after any supplements have been published" Code: Michie's Alabama Code;[5] Publisher: LexisNexis; Claim: acas/ACASLoginFire.asp copyright 2006 by Matthew Bender Code: Alaska Statutes; Publisher: LexisNexis; Claim: copyright 19662, 1968…2006 by the State of Alaska Code: Arizona Revised Statutes Annotated; Publisher: West Group; Claim: copyright 2001 by West Group Code: Arkansas Code of 1987 Annotated Official Edition; Publisher: Michie Company; Claim: copyright 1987, 1992 by the State of Arkansas Code: Deering's California Codes; Publisher: LexisNexis; Claim: copyright 2007 by Matthew Bender

Alaska

No claim of copyright made on state code website;

Arizona

No claim of copyright made on state code website;

Arkansas

No claim of copyright made on state code website;

California

No claim of copyright made on state code website;

Colorado

"Colorado Revised Statutes are made available for public use by the Committee on Legal Services of the Colorado General Assembly through a contractual arrangement with the LexisNexis Group which prepares and maintains this website. The statutes are copyrighted by the state of Colorado (please see §2-5-115, C.R.S.). In addition, any person wishing to reprint and distribute all or a substantial part of the statutes in either printed or electronic format must obtain prior permission of the Committee on Legal Services; permission is not required to reprint fewer than 200 sections of C.R.S. (please see §2-5-118, C.R.S.)."

Code: West's Colorado Revised Statutes Annotated; Publisher: West; Claim: copyright 2009 by Thomson Reuters Code: Connecticut General Statutes Annotated; Publisher: Thomson West; Claim: copyright 2007 by Thomson/West Code: Delaware Code Annotated; Publisher: Michie; Claim: copyright 1975…2001 by the State of Delaware

Connecticut

No claim of copyright made on state code website;

Delaware

No claim of copyright made on state code website;

Florida

No claim of copyright made on state code website;

Code: West's Florida Statutes Annotated; Publisher: Thomson/West; Claim: copyright 2004 by West

Georgia

"The Official Code of Georgia Annotated (O.C.G.A.) is copyrighted by the State of Georgia. By using this website, the user acknowledges the State's copyright interests in the O.C.G.A. Neither the O.C.G.A. nor any portions thereof shall be reproduced without written permission from the Georgia Code Revision Commission, except for fair use under the copyright laws of the United States; and except further that Georgia Code section text and numbering may be copied from this website by the user." [6]

Code: Official Code of Georgia Annotated; Publisher: Lexis; Claim: copyright 2000 by the State of Georgia

Hawaii

No claim of copyright made on state code website;

Code: Michie's Hawaii Revised Statutes Annotated; Publisher: LexisNexis; Claim: copyright 2006 by Matthew Bender with caveat "No copyright is claimed in the text of the statutes, regulations, and excerpts from court opinions quoted within this work."

Idaho

"The Idaho Code is made available on the Internet by the Idaho Legislature as a public service. This Internet version of the Idaho Code may not be used for commercial purposes, nor may this database be published or repackaged for commercial sale without express written permission. ";[7] From website: "The Idaho Code is the property of the state of Idaho, and is copyrighted by Idaho law, I.C. § 9‑350. According to Idaho law, any person who reproduces or distributes the Idaho Code for commercial purposes in violation of the provisions of this statute shall be deemed to be Code: Idaho Code; Publisher: Michie; an infringer of the state of Idaho's Claim: copyright 2004 by Matthew copyright." Bender Code: West's Smith-Hurd Illinois Compiled Statutes Annotated; Publisher:Thomson West; Claim: copyright 2005 by Thomson/West

Illinois

No claim of copyright made on state code website;

Indiana

No claim of copyright made on state code website;

Code: West's Annotated Indiana Code; Publisher: West Group; Claim: copyright 2000 by West Group Code: Iowa Code Annotated; Publisher: Thomson West; Claim: copyright 2008 by Thomson Reuters/West

Iowa

No claim of copyright made on state code website;

Kansas

No claim of copyright made on state code website;

Code: Kansas Statutes Annotated Official; Publisher: Division of Printing, Department of Administration (Kansas); Claim: copyright 2001 by the Revisor of Statutes of Kansas for the use and benefit of the State of Kansas

Kentucky

"Placing these files on the Internet does not alter or relinquish any copyright or proprietary interest or entitlement of the Commonwealth of Kentucky relating to this information." No claim of copyright made on state code website;

Baldwin's Kentucky Revised Statutes Annotated Certified Version; Publisher: Thomson West; Claim: copyright 2006 by Thomson/West Code: West's LSA Civil Code; Publisher: West Group; Claim: copyright 1999 by West Group

Maine

"All copyrights and other rights Annotated; Publisher: West; Claim: to statutory text are reserved by the text of revised statutes copyright State of Maine." 1989 by the State of Maine

Maryland

No claim of copyright made on state code website; but see [8] "The State does not own the copyright to the Michie/Lexis publication "The Annotated Code of Maryland", so we are not permitted to distribute it electronically. Instead, we make available our "Statutes database". It's worth noting that Maryland is not alone in this; a Code: Michie's Annotated Code of surprising number of states are in the Maryland; Publisher: LexisNexis; same situation with respect to their Claim: copyright 1997, 2007 by code publishers." Matthew Bender No claim of copyright made on state code website; Code: Annotated Laws of Massachusetts; Publisher: Lexis; Claim: copyright 1999 by Lexis

Michigan

No claim of copyright made on state code website;

Code: Michigan Statutes Annotated; Publisher: Lexis; Claim: copyright 1997 by Lexis / Code: Michigan Compiled Laws Service; Publisher: LexisNexis; Claim: copyright 2003 by Matthew Bender

Minnesota

No claim of copyright made on state code website;

Code: Minnesota Statutes Annotated; Publisher: Thomson/West; Claim: copyright 2005 by Thomson/West

Mississippi

"Pursuant to Section 1-1-9 Miss. Code Ann., the laws of Mississippi are copyrighted by the State of Mississippi. Users are advised to contact the Joint Committee on Code: Mississippi Code 1942 Compilation, Revision and Publication Annotated; Publisher: Harrison of Legislation of the Mississippi State Company / Lawyers Co-Operative; Legislature for information regarding Claim: copyright 1943, 1957 by the publication and distribution of the State of Mississippi / West's official Mississippi Code. " Annotated Mississippi Code;[9] Publisher: West Group; Claim: mscode/ copyright 1999 by West Group

Missouri

"The Missouri Revised Statutes are public information, and may be used accordingly; however, the headnotes, footnotes, annotations and index are copyrighted material. The headnotes, footnotes, annotations and index may be used for any noncommercial purpose by giving credit as follows: "The headnotes, footnotes, annotations and index of the Missouri Revised Statutes, are used by permission of the Joint Committee on Legislative Research, the copyright holder." All other uses of the headnotes, footnotes, annotations and index must have specific written permission from the copyright holder. Address requests for such permission to the Joint Committee on Legislative Research, Room 117A State Capitol, Jefferson City, MO 65101." Vernon's Annotated Missouri Statutes;[10] Publisher: West Group; Claim: m copyright 2000 by West Group

Montana

"1-11-304. Copyrights prohibited. The Montana Code Annotated, supplements, or other publications ancillary thereto, as published, are the sole property of the state of Montana and may not be copyrighted." [11]

Code: Montana Code Annotated 2009; Publisher: Montana Legislative Services Division: Claim: no copyright notice or claim made

Nebraska

No claim of copyright made on state code website;

Code: Revised Statutes of Nebraska; Publisher: Revisor of Statutes (Nebraska); Claim: copyright 2007 by Joanne M. Pepperl, Revisor of Statutes, for the benefit of the State of Nebraska

Nevada

No claim of copyright made on state code website;

Code: Michie's Nevada Revised Statutes Annotated; Publisher: LexisNexis; Claim: copyright 2008 by Matthew Bender Code: Lexis New Hampshire Revised Statutes Annotated; Publisher: LexisNexis; Claim: copyright 2008 by Matthew Bender

New Hampshire

No claim of copyright made on state code website;

New Jersey

No claim of copyright made on state code website;

Code: New Jersey Statutes Annotated; Publisher: West; Claim: copyright 1992 by West Code: New Mexico Statutes 1978 Annotated; Publisher: Michie; Claim: copyright 2003 by the State of New Mexico Code: McKinney's Consolidated Laws of New York Annotated; Publisher: Thomson West; Claim: copyright 2009 Thomson Reuters/West Code: General Statutes of North Carolina; Publisher: Lexis Nexis; Claim: copyright 2007 by Matthew Bender

New Mexico

No claim of copyright made on state legislature website;

New York

No claim of copyright made on state code website;

North Carolina

No claim of copyright made on state code website;

North Dakota

No claim of copyright made on state code website; Website offers tips on how to copy and paste, "To copy code: If you want to place text from the code into a word processing document: (1) select the text select button (the button with "abc" or "T" on it); (2) highlight the text you want to copy; and (3) select the copy button (the button with two pages on it). This will place the selected text on your clipboard for pasting into your word processing document." [12]

Code: North Dakota Century Code Annotated; Publisher: LexisNexis; Claim: copyright 2008 by Matthew Bender with caveat "Copyright assigned to the State of North Dakota for official use, subject to reservation of contractual rights by Matthew Bender"

Ohio

No claim of copyright made on state code website;

Code: Page's Ohio Revised Code Annotated; Publisher: LexisNexis; Claim: copyright 2007 by Matthew Bender Code: Oklahoma Statutes Annotated; Publisher: Thomson West; Claim: copyright 2003 by West Code: Oregon Revised Statutes Annotated; Publisher: Butterworth Legal; Claim: copyright 1988 by Butterworth Code: Purdon's Penna. Statutes Annotated; Publisher: West; Claim: copyright 2002 by West Code: General Laws of Rhode Island 1956; Publisher: LexisNexis; Claim: copyright 1957…2004 by the State of Rhode Island and Providence Plantations

Oklahoma

No claim of copyright made on state code website;

Oregon

No claim of copyright made on state code website; No claim of copyright made on state website;

Rhode Island

No claim of copyright made on state code website;

South Carolina

No claim of copyright made on state code website, "The South Carolina Legislative Council is offering access to the unannotated South Carolina Code of Laws on the Internet as a service to the public. The unannotated South Carolina Code on the General Assembly's website is now current through the 2008 session. The unannotated South Carolina Code, consisting only of Code text and numbering, may be copied from this website at the reader's expense and effort without need for permission." [13]

Code: Code of Laws of South Carolina 1976; Publisher: Thomson West; Claim: copyright 1986, 2005 by the State of South Carolina

South Dakota

No general claim of copyright on website, but see Section 2-16-8 of the code: "The South Dakota Code Commission shall provide the material authorized for publication by § 2-16-6 will be copyrighted by the State of South Dakota, in the name of the State of South Dakota. The commission may contract with printers, publishers, and computer retrieval companies for use of the state's copyright."

Code: South Dakota Codified Laws; Publisher: Thomson West; Claim: copyright 2004 by the State of South Dakota

Tennessee

No claim of copyright made on state website;

Code: Tennessee Code Annotated Official Edition; Publisher:LexisNexis; Claim: copyright 1955…2003 by the State of Tennessee

Texas

"The official text of state statutes and other state laws are generally not subject to a copyright claim. However, West Group may have a copyright interest in the organization and arrangement of the constitution and the statutes unofficially compiled in Vernon's Texas Civil Statutes. To the extent West Group has such an interest, use would be regulated under copyright law." Code: Vernon's Texas Codes [14] Annotated; Publisher: Thomson West; AQ.aspx Claim: copyright 2004 by West

Utah

No claim of copyright made on state code website;

Code: Utah Code Annotated; Publisher: LexisNexis; Claim: copyright 2007 by Matthew Bender with caveat "No copyright is claimed in the text of the statutes, regulations, and excerpts from court opinions quoted within this work."

Vermont

No claim of copyright made on state code website;

Code: Vermont Statutes Annotated; Publisher: LexisNexis; Claim: copyright 2005 by the Legislative Council of the General Assembly for the State of Vermont Code: Code of Virginia 1950; Publisher: LexisNexis; Claim: copyright 2009 by Matthew Bender Code: West's Revised Code of Washington Annotated; Publisher: Thomson West; Claim: copyright 2004 by West. Code: Michie's West Virginia Code Annotated; Publisher: LexisNexis; Claim: copyright 2006 by Matthew Bender Code: West's Wisconsin Statutes Annotated; Publisher: Thomson West; Claim: copyright 2004 by West

Virginia

No claim of copyright made on state code website;

Washington

No claim of copyright made on state code website;

West Virginia

No claim of copyright made on state code website;

Wisconsin

No claim of copyright made on state code website;

Wyoming

"The statutes are copyrighted by the State of Wyoming. Pursuant to contract, Matthew Bender & Company, Inc., a member of the LexisNexis Group (LexisNexis) has been granted the exclusive right to publish, distribute and sell the Wyoming Statutes Annotated in all forms and media during the term of Code: Wyoming Statutes Annotated: the Publication Contract." Publisher: LexisNexis;[15] copyright 1977-2007 by the State of ATUTES.HTM Wyoming

References

  1. ↑ Armstrong, Tim. "Can States Copyright Their Statutes?". Info/Law. Retrieved 12 November 2015.
  2. ↑ Bayard, Sam. "Oregon Claims Copyright in Its Statutes -- Well, Sort Of". Digital Media Law Project. Retrieved 12 November 2015.
  3. ↑ https://www.techdirt.com/articles/20150723/17125231743/state-georgia-sues-carl-malamud-copyright-infringement-publishing-states-own-laws.shtml
  4. ↑ http://arstechnica.com/tech-policy/2008/04/oregon-publishing-our-laws-online-is-a-copyright-violation/
  5. ↑ http://alisondb.legislature.state.al.us/
  6. ↑ http://www.lexisnexis.com/hottopics/gacode/default.a sp
  7. ↑ http://www.legislature.idaho.gov/idsta t/TOC/IDStatutesTOC.htm
  8. ↑ http://mlis.state.md.us/other/MGA_FA Q.htm#stat11
  9. ↑ http://www.sos.state.ms.us/ed_pubs/
  10. ↑ http://www.moga.mo.gov/copyright.ht
  11. ↑ http://data.opi.mt.gov/bills/mca/1/11/ 1-11-304.htm
  12. ↑ http://www.legis.nd.gov/information/s tatutes/cent-code.html
  13. ↑ http://www.scstatehouse.gov/code/t0 2c007.htm
  14. ↑ http://www.statutes.legis.state.tx.us/F
  15. ↑ http://legisweb.state.wy.us/TITLES/ST
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