‘Ignorantia Juris Non Excusat’, BUT Printing Annotated Law in Georgia Is Copyright Infringement!
Excerpt from FEE:
Just weeks ago in Florida, a father spending spring break on the beach with his family was fined $25 dollars for using metal sand tools on Panama City Beach, a law he had no idea he was breaking.
When this long-time resident of Panama City Beach asked law enforcement if he could see the actual text of the statute he was breaking, the officer on the scene immediately called for backup and threatened the father with jail time.
…
Carl Malamud, founder of public.research.org, has been giving Georgia lawmakers a run for their money for years. As a long-time open records advocate, Malamud has dedicated his time to ensuring that the people of Georgia have access to every single law in the state, including the annotated copies, something that has recently gotten him into hot water with the state.
Malamud believes that every person should have access to the laws they have allegedly consented to follow.
For students of the law or anyone doing legal research, annotated copies of legal texts are extremely helpful as they provide further insight into each law. Annotations may include a backstory or judicial opinion regarding the law and will often cite which laws preceded and followed the law in question. All this information is extremely valuable to those defending themselves against the state.
Unfortunately in Georgia, in order to gain access to the complete and official compilation of the state’s laws, residents, like Malamud, are required to pay the state $1,207.02 for access to a hardcopy version. The state has promised to unveil a more “affordable” version that can be printed from LexusNexus for only $400 (what a bargain).
As an activist who believes that every person should have access to the laws they allegedly consented to follow, Malamud has spent countless hours scanning copies of the annotated version Georgia’s law. He then copied those annotated files to USB drives, which were then sent out to local lawmakers as well as other prominent members of the community.
Each USB drive was sent in an envelope with an enclosed letter which stated:
“Access to the law is a fundamental aspect of our system of democracy, an essential element of due process, equal protection, and access to justice.”
Of course, recipients of Malamud’s envelopes were given fair warning of its contents just by glancing at the colorful packages, as each contained the words: “UNIMPEACHABLE,” on the front and featured pictures Georgia peaches and American flags and the phrase, “code is law.”
However, some of the government recipients of Malamud’s letter were less than impressed.
In a written response sent to Malamud, chairman of Georgia’s Code Revision Commission, Josh McKoon stated:
“Your unlawful copying… Infringes on the exclusive copyright of the state of Georgia, Accordingly, you are hereby notified to CEASE AND DESIST ALL COPYRIGHT INFRINGEMENT.”
When Life Gives you Peaches…
While this seems almost too far-fetched to believe, the government of Georgia was so infuriated that Malamud would dare disseminate annotated copies of the law for others to read, they pursued legal action against his organization, public.research.org.
Malamud was ordered to destroy all physical files and remove all information regarding the annotated law from his organization’s website within ten days, or face legal consequences.
While the state of Georgia had already “won” in the legal sense, it continued to pursue legal action against Malamud, suing him in federal court.
The state of Georgia claims that there is no substance to Malamud’s complaints since technically the law is already available to the public for free online.
Malamud has, in turn, questioned the state of Georgia’s definition of “free,” since before even the non-annotated legal codes can be viewed online, users must agree to a list of restrictions as well as agree to two separate terms of use.
Among these terms is a stipulation that states that any of the information found is prohibited from being copied and cannot be cited in any newspaper or “articles.”In other instances, those wishing to view the law must even apply for a license.
Unfortunately for Malamud, the judge ruled in favor of the state of Georgia.
The state has also continued to go after Malamud and his organization.
When it comes to intellectual property laws, the federal government is prohibited from copyrighting texts, such as laws, for example. However, states are allowed to copyright text, especially if a private company is involved—like LexusNexus.
Since LexusNexus, a private company, provided the annotations for the state online, the judge viewed these additional notes as “value added material” and not necessary to the understanding of the law and thus, found Malamud in violation of the Copyright Act.
But the judge didn’t stop his criticism of Malamud there. Adding insult to injury he accused Malamud’s website of engaging in commercial copying of materials—various laws— which is illegal for a non-profit organization like Public.Resource.Org.
The state has also continued to go after Malamud and his organization for any other offense they can manage to find. Recently Malamud was served with an injunction as a result of what one source calls, “publishing technical and scientific standards that have been incorporated into laws.”
