Remarkably, the question has persisted: Can states or anyone else own copyright in public laws? This year, three separate opinions came down on the side of public access:

• In July, the D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals ruled that the fair use doctrine may prohibit industry groups from controlling publication of technical standards that have been incorporated by reference into law, allowing publication of them online by Resource.org and its founder Carl Malamud. Here is the decision.
• In October, in another case brought by Public.Resource.org, the 11^thS. Circuit Court of Appeals ruled that the annotated version of the Official Code of Georgia is a public record and cannot by copyrighted.
• In October, the 11^th Circuit ruled for Fastcase in its lawsuit against Casemaker over the latter’s claims of copyright in George administrative regulations.

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