Georgia v. Public Resource.Org, Inc.

The case asked whether the annotations in the Official Code of Georgia Annotated can be protected by copyright. The Supreme Court said they cannot, because under the government edicts doctrine they were created by legislators as part of their official duties.

The Court decided that the annotations are not copyrightable under the government edicts doctrine; the vote and opinion lineup are not provided here.

The decision affects who can copy and share Georgia's annotated code, including publishers, libraries, and legal websites. For example, a public-interest group can post those annotations online without needing Georgia's permission.

The Court has finished this case. The practical next step is that the annotations may be shared and reproduced without Georgia claiming copyright protection over them.

The fight was over whether Georgia could copyright the annotations in its official annotated code. The Court said those annotations are not eligible for copyright protection.

Publishers, nonprofits, libraries, lawyers, and the public are affected. They can more freely copy and post Georgia's annotated code materials.

Nothing further is scheduled in this Supreme Court docket action. The decision now governs this case and leaves no new merits step at the Court.