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The following letter was sent today to the Wisconsin Supreme Court.
This are West positions (sic) in its own words.
HyperLaw, Inc.
P.O. Box 1176
New York, New York 10023
212-787-2812
212-496-4138 (fax)
April 7, 1995
Via Facsimile
The Honorable Chief Justice Nathan Heffernan
c/o Marilyn Graves, Clerk of the Court
Wisconsin Supreme Court
State Capitol Building
Madison, WI 53702
Dear Judge Heffernan:
In West's Supplemental Brief dated April 3, 1995
opposing the proposed Wisconsin public domain
citation, West states at page 8:
West Publishing does not object to other
publishers using initial citations to its case
reports--the volume number, the West reporter
designation, and the first page number of the
case report. It has stated that position
repeatedly and-- contrary to the suggestion of
one of West's critics, Alan Sugarman, in this
letter to the Courts--consistently in deposition
testimony, in the briefs it has submitted in
federal copyright cases, and in its statements
to this Court on March 21. Since West has no
objection to the use of initial citations to its
case reports, even by its competitors, those
initial citations are effectively "in the public
domain."
However, in West responses to Matthew Bender's Second
Set of Requests for Admissions in Matthew Bender &
Company, Inc. and HyperLaw, Inc. v. West Publishing
Company, 94 Civ. 0589 (United States District Court,
Southern District of New York), dated March 31, 1995,
and signed by Donna M. Bergsgaard of West and Joseph
M. Musilek of Schatz Paquin, there appear the
following requests for admissions by Matthew Bender,
and the following repsponses by West:
REQUEST FOR ADMISSION NO. 9:
West does not claim a copyright in First Page
Citations.
WEST RESPONSE:
Denied.
REQUEST FOR ADMISSION NO. 10:
West does not object to anyone, including
Matthew Bender, using First Page Citations for
any purpose.
WEST RESPONSE:
Denied.
REQUEST FOR ADMISSION NO. 11
The use of First Page Citations by any person
for any purpose does not Infringe any West
copyright.
WEST RESPONSE:
Denied.
It seems to us that given the back and forth
positions of West, that the only prudent course for
the State of Wisconsin is to establish a public
domain citation which is not subject to the daily
whims of a single private publisher.
Sincerely,
/s/ads
Alan D. Sugarman
President
cc: Brady C. Williamson, Esq. (facsimile 608-257-
3911)
(Counsel for West Publishing Company)
Joseph Musilek, Esq., Schatz Paquin et al
(Counsel for West Publishing Company)
Morgan Chu, Esq., Irell & Manella
(Counsel for Matthew Bender & Company) (
fax 310-203-7199)
William Mulligan, Esq.
(Counsel for Wisconsin State Bar) (fax 414-
276-9369)
Paul J. Ruskin, Esq.
(Counsel for HyperLaw)
Carl J. Hartmann, Esq.
(Counsel for HyperLaw)
========================================
Alan D. Sugarman
President
HyperLaw, Inc. ®
Publisher of Federal Appeals on Disc tm CD-ROM
sugarman@hyperlaw.com
212-787-2812
212-496-4138 (fax)
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