I came across this post today on Boing Boing about a guy who is scanning all kinds of government regulations, laws, etc. and posting the images online for all to see.  Apparently some state and local governments copyright their laws and regs and he’s hoping one of them sues so that they can hash out the issue in court. 

How the hell does a government copyright what is ostensibly public information?  Now, if you read the article that the Boing Boing post points to you can understand why a government would copyright its regs, but that doesn’t explain how it’s able to do it.  Here’s the why:

To purchase a digital copy of the California code costs $1,556, or
$2,315 for a printed version. The state generates about $880,000
annually by selling its laws, according to the California Office of
Administrative Law.

That’s just horses–t.