Try getting them in bulk for free, so you can republish them.
Or not through lexis/westlaw's website, for free.
(I'm cheating a bit here, I've actually been a part of fighting this fight for a very long time.)
Note that these exclusive contracts are also longer term than one would think.
Numerous reputable folks and and reputable companies have offered to host the opinions in bulk, for free, at no cost to the courts, as well as providing search/etc. However, the courts hurt for real budget, and they all see selling these contracts as a revenue source.
(I'm generalizing to both state and federal courts here)
In the case of PACER (you may remember PACER from stories about Aaron Swartz :P), it sadly makes up for a lot of budget shortfall in the courts. PACER's revenue is > 100 million a year.
If you want to hear the long sad story, you can probably find a number of writings by Carl Malamud talking about it.
If you just want to get angry, it would suffice to check out the lawsuits over trying to claim copyright in the page numbering between westlaw and lexis, etc.
(I'm cheating a bit here, I've actually been a part of fighting this fight for a very long time.)
Note that these exclusive contracts are also longer term than one would think.
Numerous reputable folks and and reputable companies have offered to host the opinions in bulk, for free, at no cost to the courts, as well as providing search/etc. However, the courts hurt for real budget, and they all see selling these contracts as a revenue source.
(I'm generalizing to both state and federal courts here)
In the case of PACER (you may remember PACER from stories about Aaron Swartz :P), it sadly makes up for a lot of budget shortfall in the courts. PACER's revenue is > 100 million a year.
If you want to hear the long sad story, you can probably find a number of writings by Carl Malamud talking about it.
If you just want to get angry, it would suffice to check out the lawsuits over trying to claim copyright in the page numbering between westlaw and lexis, etc.