Georgia Loses Legal Code Copyright Clash at Supreme Court

April 27, 2020, 10:17 AM

Georgia lost a close U.S. Supreme Court case over the state’s ability to copyright its annotated legal code, settling a dispute that both sides have argued has broad consequences for access to and cost of legal materials.

Copyright protection doesn’t extend to the annotations in Georgia’s official annotated code, Chief Justice John Roberts wrote for the cross-ideological 5-4 majority on Monday, joined by Justices Sonia Sotomayor, Elena Kagan, Neil Gorsuch, and Brett Kavanaugh.

The state’s lawyer warned at the Dec. 4 oral argument that a ruling against it would “blow up” not only Georgia’s copyright regime but similar ones in about a third of the states with similar setups.

An array of outside interest groups also weighed in, ranging from small-firm lawyers looking to maintain access to a coalition of states looking to uphold existing business arrangements.

The copyright clash stemmed from Georgia’s suit against Public.Resource.Org, a group that advocates for public access.

-snip-