Dorothy and all:
I've stayed out of this discussion until now. I've stayed out because -
like others who have posted - I've not made up my mind on this complex
issue. I do feel that while West may be an "800 pound gorilla" in the
legal publishing industry, that does not make them by definition the bad
guy. Their success, quality and history, should not be ignored as we look
toward the future of legal information. TAP has likewise raised a
legitimate concern about that future, but that does not necessarily
make them a savior.
One other reason I've stayed out of this is because much of the
discussion coming out of TAP and West has been of limited help due to a
number of reasons better stated by others, such as: personal
attacks, self-rightousness, confusion of issues and corporate
boilerplate. In this instance it is the latter which leads me to the
reason for this short trip up the soapbox:
Dorothy: In answering this recent round of questions, I can't help but
think you evaded this first one:
From: Dorothy Molstad
To: Jamie Love
RE: Five Questions
DT: October 31, 1994
>
> Jamie, here are my responses as promised.
>
> 1. Does West claim a copyright to its "interior"
> page numbers from published judicial decisions?
>
> A: West doesn't publish judicial decisions.
> West's reports of judicial decisions,
> including selection, arrangement and
> editorial enhancements - the cumulative
> products of thousands of West employees
> and over 100 years of development, are
> indeed copyrighted. But West does not
> assert copyright over page numbers in
> and of themselves. All kinds of people,
> including West's competitors, use West's
> citations as a matter of course.
The intent of the question is to establish the comprehensiveness of the
copyright that West claims over the cases printed in West reporters and
sold by West Publishing. (The West "doesn't publish, West's [sic] reports"
language struck me as particularly evasive.) Ever since I have been in
this business I've never been clear on where the line between the
what is rightfully in the public domain as a government document and what
is considered West's copyrightable intellectual property exists. So
perhaps allow me to restate the question:
Does West claim a copyright interest in the relationship between the
cases it prints in its published reporting services and the page numbers
(including both the first page on which the case is printed, and the
sequential pages on which the case additionally appears) on which those
cases are printed?
A second question to satisfy my own curiosity: If I photocopy a case
from a West Reporter, or print/download the same case from WESTLAW, and
want to distribute it (beyond the bounds of fair use), how much material
and exactly what do I need to edit in order to remove it from West's
copyright? (I consider the headnotes, key numbers and syllabus obvious, my
question focuses on what else?)
Let me make it clear, that in posing these questions I am neither in nor
out of the TAP camp, the West camp or any other camp (With the possible
exception of wanting to join Bob Berring's fishing camp. :-) . I am - like
I suspect are many of my colleagues - just looking for clear
boilerplate and hyperbole-free answers, so this discussion can move
forward - rather than in circles.
Here's hoping I get it.
George H. Pike
Director of the Law Library
University of Pittsburgh School of Law
3900 Forbes Ave.
Pittsburgh, PA 15260
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