Copyright Compliance Issues and Resources for Law Firms
| Publication year | 2012 |
| Pages | 57 |
| Citation | Vol. 41 No. 2 Pg. 57 |
2012, February, Pg. 57. Copyright Compliance Issues and Resources for Law Firms
February 2012
Vol. 41, No. 2 [Page57]
This Department, published quarterly, is sponsored by the Colorado Association of Law Librarians (CoALL) to assist attorneys with common problems in legal research. Readers interested in submitting research questions may send them to: CoALL, Legal Research Corner, at www.aallnet.org/chapter/coall. Members of CoALL will attempt to answer as many questions as possible, either individually or as part of this Department.
The information provided in this Department is for educational purposes only and is not intended as legal advice. No endorsement or recommendation is made of any product named in articles. Department coordinators are CoALL members Andrea Hamilton, Madeline Cohen, Theresa (Tracy) Leming, and Esti Shay. For more information about CoALL, visit www.aallnet.org/chapter/coall.
In conducting the business of law, attorneys and their firms may inadvertently infringe copyright(fn1) by distributing a work not in the public domain(fn2) without permission from the copyright owner. Infringement may occur, for example, under one of the following scenarios:
* using and archiving work product without permission
* mirroring websites and posting images without permission
* distributing and archiving articles and newsletters without permission.
This article highlights real-world examples of the above scenarios and provides Internet resources that can help law firms achieve copyright compliance.(fn3)
Work Product
Using other attorneys' work product is generally accepted within the legal industry,(fn4) and it has been argued that the fair use doctrine applies when work-product use occurs.(fn5) Nevertheless, some commentators suggest that this practice, though customary, may amount to copyright infringement.(fn6) According to Nimmer on Copyright, "[t]here appear to be no valid grounds why legal forms such as contracts, insurance policies, pleadings, and other legal documents should not be protected under the law of copyright."(fn7)
It is not surprising, then, that in 2001, "the reputable plaintiffs' side securities law firm of Milberg Weiss Bershad Hynes and Lerach LLP publicly threatened to sue a number of other law firms for copyright infringement" arising out of unauthorized copying of language in its complaints.(fn8) A year later, Milberg Weiss placed copyright notices on its complaints and registered the complaints with the U.S. Copyright Office.(fn9)
Websites
Website "mirroring"(fn10) and the unauthorized reposting of original work on websites also pose potential copyright pitfalls. In Brayton Purcell LLP v. Recordon and Recordon,(fn11) a federal district court held that Recordon and Recordon had violated Brayton Purcell's copyright by copying the substance and look of its website.(fn12) In another case, Neimark v. Ronai and Ronai LLP,(fn13) a federal district court held in favor of the plaintiff, finding that the defendant firm had infringed copyright by reproducing for its website a cartoon appearing on the plaintiff's website.(fn14)
Articles and Newsletters
Copyright infringement also may occur when firm members copy and distribute publications, such as articles and newsletters, without the copyright owner's permission. In Lowry's Reports v. Legg Mason, Inc.,(fn15) a newsletter publisher prevailed against a law firm that allowed its employees to repeatedly circulate copies of a newsletter for which the firm had only one subscription.(fn16) The Lowry's decision indicates...
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