A federal judge has dismissed claims that online services that provided access to legal briefs filed in federal court were infringing the copyright in those briefs.
Earlier this month, in one of the most highly watched copyright cases of the last few years, Judge Rakoff of the Southern District of New York issued a ruling dismissing the case brought against Westlaw and LexisNexis by a pair of copyright attorneys. Westlaw and LexisNexis both provide access to legal briefs filed in federal cases, for a fee. The attorneys claimed that through this practice, Westlaw and LexisNexis unlawfully profited from their copyrighted works.
Judge Rakoff's summary ruling was not supported by an extensive order including his reasoning, but he did promise a future order discussing his rationale for dismissing the case. Although the judge's reasoning is currently unknown, Westlaw and LexisNexis argued that they were entitled to use the documents under the fair use doctrine. The electronic services also noted that the briefs were readily available through PACER, the federal court system's electronic filing service.
It will be interesting to see whether the Judge agreed with Westlaw and LexisNexis that their actions were protected by fair use, or whether he relies on a different (and perhaps new) exception to copyright protection. Either way, an appeal is a distinct possibility.
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