Author: <ShannonS@online-interactive.com> at -Internet
    Date: 3/12/97  10:41 AM
Priority: Normal
     BCC: CITATION at AO-OCPPO
      TO: citation@ao.uscourts.gov at -Internet
 Subject: Copyrights and Westlaw.

     I am a lawyer that uses the Internet on a daily basis.  I 
believe that West Law should not be allowed to copyright the 
citations that govern court decisions. Those cases themselves are 
public record and by copyrighting the citation they effectively cut 
off the access to those cases and records. The meduim of the Internet 
is open to everyone which is the beauty of it. To continue to allow 
WestLaw the monolopy it currently enjoys is unfair. We should have a 
public domain system. Westlaw purports the weak argument that having 
to re-number their system is burdensome. This argument is absurd at 
best. Presently our courts and branches of government have their own 
system. Thank you for your time. Another use of the Internet.