Law Student Support For Open-Source Citation System Grows
Nerd battle gets juicier!
The hits just keep on coming for the Bluebook. Known as the gunner’s best friend, the lucrative publication is embroiled in a copyright fight which has led to open-source advocates believing a large chunk of the book is in the public domain. Just last night, the tussle got amped up another notch as it was announced that Baby Blue, an open-source citation system, was officially launched.
https://twitter.com/CJSprigman/status/697182628990967809?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw
This move comes after Yale Law students proclaimed their support of Baby Blue. No, it isn’t just a move against rival Harvard Law (the Harvard Law Review Association holds the copyright to the Bluebook and has been maneuvering to block the publication of Baby Blue) there are real beliefs about access to justice behind the petition. Now NYU Law students have begun their own version:
Curbing Client And Talent Loss With Productivity Tech
We support the free system of legal citation known as “Baby Blue” brought to the world by our own NYU Law professor Christopher Sprigman, open-source activist Carl Malamud, and fellow students at NYU. In the words of Prof. Sprigman:
“Every person, including every poor person, should be able to cite the law. Imprisoned litigants, pro se litigants, legal clinics, small law firms and solo practitioners — all of them need better access to our system of legal citation if the law is to work for them and for their clients. And that means free access.”
It isn’t surprising that NYU Law is jumping into the fray. As the petition mentions, NYU Law professor Christopher Sprigman has been a leader on the Baby Blue project along with many NYU Law students.
The citations scuffle may get even more intense as Professor Sprigman has written an open letter calling for more law schools to support the project:
[A] group of Yale Law students released a letter supporting #BabyBlue. The letter has almost 120 signatures, and more are being added as I type.
It would be very helpful if you could make inquiries at your schools to see if your students would be interested in expressing their views publicly.
Sponsored
AI Presents Both Opportunities And Risks For Lawyers. Are You Prepared?
Curbing Client And Talent Loss With Productivity Tech
Law Firm Business Development Is More Than Relationship Building
Law Firm Business Development Is More Than Relationship Building
So this nerd battle may get even more juicy.
Read the full petition on the next page.
The new (and much improved) ‘Bluebook’ caught in the copyright cross-hairs [Volokh Conspiracy]
Earlier: Is The Bluebook About To Be Killed Off?
Yale Law Students Support The End Of The Bluebook
Sponsored
Generative AI at Work: Boosting e-Discovery Efficiency for Corporate Legal Teams
