[Infowarrior] - We the . . .

[Richard Forno]

(c/o IP)

We the . . .

Imagine if the Founding Fathers tried to copyright the Constitution

http://www.pressdemocrat.com/article/20080905/OPINION/809050369/1033/news

THE PRESS DEMOCRAT

Published: Friday, September 5, 2008 at 4:30 a.m.
Last Modified: Friday, September 5, 2008 at 5:49 a.m.

"We the people of the United States, in order to form a more perfect  
union, establish justice, insure tranquility . . . do ordain and  
establish that this Constitution shall not be duplicated, republished  
or rebroadcast without the written consent of, and payment to, future  
federal, state and local officials for revenue-generating purposes."

We must have missed that last section of our founding documents.

Apparently, California state officials haven't though. Laws may be of,  
by and for the people, but, according to the state, downloading them  
onto your computer is unlawful -- unless you pay for the privilege.

That's what Carl Malamud of Sebastopol discovered when he sought to  
post online all 38 volumes of the California Code of Regulations and  
the Sonoma County Code. These documents contain society's rules about  
everything from building standards, to traffic laws, to regulations  
for running a nursing home.

But state officials contend copyright laws give them the power to  
charge $2,315 for a printed version of the code and $1,556 for a  
digital version. The state generates about $800,000 a year by selling  
its laws for publication. Want to post them online? Forget about it.  
LexisNexis has the exclusive rights to distribute Sonoma County  
statutes.

If you're wondering how a private company can have such control over  
the publication of laws written for the public -- and devised through  
taxpayer funds -- you're not alone.

Adding to the absurdity of it all, California officials believe  
they're doing this to benefit the public. Noted Linda Brown, deputy  
director of the Office of Administrative Law, "We are obtaining  
compensation for the people of California."

Given that reasoning, maybe the state should consider charging for  
election results? Imagine the revenue potential.

Fortunately, Malamud has not given up. He has spent hours scanning the  
state code books into his computer, and on Labor Day he posted the  
basic safety codes for all 50 states. (To see his Web site, go to www.public.resource.org 
.)

He's likely to hear from the state's lawyers soon, but he's ready for  
a fight.

Given the state's long-standing support for the public's right to know  
what its government is doing and the court's history of recognizing  
that laws are part of the public domain and must be accessible, we're  
guessing Malamud will ultimately prevail.

But just to be on the safe side, somebody hide a copy of the  
Constitution.