Hacker Newsnew | past | comments | ask | show | jobs | submitlogin

You already supplied the context, so I thought I'd put the quote in there with it.

It's hard for me to say that common law was not invented by the courts, given that it derives from a lot of old court decisions: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Common_law

Though it's fair to point out that congress did enact laws to codify the parts of it we wanted. That said, one of the few surviving bits is copyright-related (the "hot news" doctrine):

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Common_law#United_States_federa...

In fact, I dare say that copyright law is one place the courts like to make up new stuff. See, e.g., Capitol Records, Inc. v Naxos of America Inc.

http://www.groklaw.net/articlebasic.php?story=20050412225604...



Guidelines | FAQ | Lists | API | Security | Legal | Apply to YC | Contact

Search: