MicroDecisions, Inc. v. Skinner, Case No. 2D03-3346, 2 Dist. Fla.
From the January, 2004 issue of The Title Insurance Law Newsletter
A Florida appeal has drawn an amicus brief from Real Estate Information Professionals Association (REIPA), National Public Records Research Association (NPRRA) and several title insurer-related data companies. The case is a challenge by a private data provider to the Collier County property appraiser's claim that he holds a copyright on the county's GIS maps. Of course, the real issue is not a claim of ownership of an idea or creative process. Rather, the question is money. Copyright equals monopoly, which captures customers and drives up price.
The Florida Attorney General issued an opinion last fall stating that Palm Beach County could not copyright its GIS maps. AGO 2003-42, Sept. 3, 2003. MicroDecisions, Inc. sued Mr. Skinner before the decision was issued. The circuit court ruled in Skinner's favor. MicroDecisions' appeal drew the amicus brief of REIPA, NPRRA and others, and a separate amicus from the First Amendment Foundation and the Florida Society of Newspaper Editors.
The issue of public records ownership is a hot one. The Wisconsin Attorney General opined recently that a county register of deeds had the power, in a contract for the bulk sale of real estate records, to prohibit the "sale or dissemination" of those records. OAG 01-03, October 2, 2003. She reasoned that the restriction was permissible because there is no law directly prohibiting it. She did not address the issue of ownership of the records, but waxed unabashedly about the economics of monopoly.
