SCOTUS Ruling: “No One Can Own The Law”

No one can own the law, explained US Supreme Court Chief Justice John Roberts.

In a 5-4 opinion, written by chief justice John Roberts, the U.S. Supreme Court held on Monday that annotations added to the State of Georgia’s legal code – essentially, the laws of the state – are not eligible for copyright protection, reports Andrew Albanese, Publishers Weekly senior writer.

The ruling upholds a 2018 appeals court decision by the 11th circuit, one that reversed a 2017 summary judgment in the case Georgia v. Public.Resource.Org, in which the state of Georgia sued a public access advocacy, Public Resource, group for copyright infringement for making the state’s complete annotated legal code – published commercially by the LexisNexis Group – freely available online.

“In a nutshell, the court held that even though the legislature outsourced the work to a private company, the work was done in the course of legislative duties, and was not eligible for copyright protections,” Albanese tells CCC’s Chris Kenneally.

“The animating principle behind the government edicts doctrine is that no one can own the law,” he says. “As Chief Justice John Roberts explained, officials empowered to speak with the force of law cannot be the authors of – and therefore cannot copyright – the works they create in the course of their official duties.”

Every Friday, CCC’s “Beyond the Book” speaks with the editors and reporters of “Publishers Weekly” for an early look at the news that publishers, editors, authors, agents and librarians will be talking about when they return to work on Monday.