14 March 1997 
 
TO  : Judicial Conference of the United States 
FROM: Pinecone Publications L.L.C. -- Karen Ott-Worrow, Publisher 
RE  : Adoption of the ABA-Endorsed Official Citation 
 
     Pinecone Publications L.L.C., a Washington, D.C.-based legal and 
business publisher, strongly urges the Judicial Conference to adopt 
the ABA-endorsed official citation. 
 
     The current system that requires publishers to use the 
citation/numbering system of a privately owned corporation seems 
unfair from a competitive standpoint. In addition, the court 
decisions that are being cited would seem, to most observers, to be 
in the public domain. How the system of page numbering/citation 
somehow becomes the property of a private organization seems 
ludicrous. 
 
     Pinecone understands that in today's global marketplace, foreign 
investment in the United States should be expected as this country, 
itself, attempts to enter foreign markets. Yet, we find it somewhat 
problematic that we must pay a foreign-owned company for the right to 
cite decisions handed down by judges paid by American taxpayers. 
 
     If the Judicial Conference adopts the ABA-endorsed proposal, we 
believe that small to mid-sized publishers, such as Pinecone, will 
have increased opportunities to publish their own case reporters. 
Costs associated with producing our normal products also would like 
decrease, so, it would seem to follow that some of those cost savings 
could be passed on to our customers.