The Law Librarian Blog reports on a Canadian class action lawsuit against Thomson Reuter (West) for posting briefs on its Westlaw database, contending that under Canadian law, the lawyer has a “moral right” to works of authorship.
Can California be far behind? U.S. attorney Edmond M. Connor was shocked to find that the California Supreme Courts provides briefs to Lexis and Westlaw. (Did you know that your own Alameda County Law Library is a designated depository California Supreme Court Briefs.) His letter to the court asserts copyright infringement because other attorneys would be “buying his work product and using it without fair compensation”. He has proposed a number of rule changes to modify the practice. Read the entire article on the Law Librarian Blog.
