New Free/Open Source Software law journal launches

Andrew Katz of the new International Free and Open Source Software Law Review sez, "OK, so it's not going to appear in airport bookstalls any time soon, but we think that the launch of the Review is a pretty big step forward for openness, and a sign that (1) free and open source software is moving into the mainstream; and (2) even lawyers can adopt a collaborative model and create something both free as in freedom, and as in beer."

International Free and Open Source Software Law Review Issue 1 PDF (Thanks, Andrew!)

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“and (2) even lawyers can adopt a collaborative model and create something both free as in freedom, and as in beer.”

This is also being attempted elsewhere:

Legalwikipro – the free cooperative legal encyclopedia that any lawyer can edit.

http://www.legalwikipro.com

Lawyers CAN cooperate and share. Kinda.
Anonymous

As an attorney, I would be THRILLED to see the Westlaw stranglehold on judicial decisions broken. The cases themselves are public domain, but West’s catalog/citation system is copyrighted material, and unless it’s in a State or Federal reporter, you’re stuck with referring to a case by its copyrighted citation system. And access to West’s catalog system is frightfully expensive– prices vary, but you can expect to pay $80,000 a year for a subscription.

Some states have recognized hwo stupid this system is, and started publishing cases under their own public domain citation formats (LA, ME, MI, MT, NM, and others), but the important ones like NY and CA are still sticking with the West system.

So YAYYY!!! for these journal publishers.