The Tennessee Court of Appeals reversed a ruling by the a trial court, saying the U.S. Copyright Act does not conflict with the Tennessee Public Records Act and that Metro Nashville police can allow "personal inspection" of the records it collected after the Covenant School shooting.
A Tennessee Court of Appeals heard arguments in a case in which Nashville government denied access to records it collected in the Covenant School shooting that were created by the shooter, Audrey Hale. The parents of the children at the school argued that because they owned the copyright -- given to them by the shooter's parents -- Metro Nashville could not release them. A lower court agreed with the parents, ruling that the Copyright Act preempts the state's public records law.
More than two years after a shooter blasted into the Covenant School in Nashville and killed six people, including three third-graders, the Metro Nashville Police Department on April 2 released a 48-page investigative case summary officially announcing the end of the case. Records of shooter's writings collected by police continue to be part of a lawsuit on appeal at the Court of Appeals in which a chancellor ruled copyright prevented their release.
Much attention has been given to a ruling by Chancellor I'Ashea Myles blocking release of the Covenant School shooter's manifesto and other writings. But a closer look at the ruling shows that she has cleared the way for release of other records in the case as soon as police officially finish their investigation. In March, police said the investigation would be over in June. In mid-June, they said it would be over in July. So is a release of records imminent?
The U.S. Supreme Court in a 5-4 decision on Monday ruled that non-binding legal materials created by a state legislative body cannot be copyrighted, expanding the understanding of what government works are in the public domain. In a decision delivered by Chief Justice John Roberts Jr., the Supreme Court ruled that Georgia can't copyright the annotations in its official state code. At issue in Georgia v. Public.Resource.Org, Inc. was whether Georgia could copyright the annotations in the Official Code of Georgia Annotated (OCGA) and prevent the nonprofit Public.Resource.Org from copying the annotated version and distributing it for free on its website. “Under the government edicts doctrine, judges — and, we [...]
