Apparently the State of Oregon is trying to force a number of freely-available legal resources to stop publishing their statutes. Why? Well, apparently those statutes are copyrighted.
They have of course, posted the statutes freely on the state’s website, and they haven’t sued the FOR-PROFIT corporations that publish their statutes online. The state’s website does, however, have a number of accessibility and standards-compliance issues. That may make it difficult for some to access these laws freely.
Nonetheless, wouldn’t a statute by necessity, have to be in the public domain? How can people be asked to follow laws that are not freely available for them?
What is the government’s purpose in claiming a copyright here? The purpose of intellectual property protections is to encourage innovation. A statute’s “innovation” is certainly encouraged plentifully by public outcry and yearly elections.
I think Oregon is simply trying to scrape up a few cents that it isn’t due. Par for the course in government these days.
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