w:District Court of Appeal of Florida, Second District, Microdecisions, Inc. v. Skinner (2005)
“ In his brief, Skinner claims that nothing in the Florida Statutes precludes a constitutional officer such as himself from holding a copyright on the GIS maps. He misconstrues the interplay between the federal copyright act and Florida's public records laws. The copyright act gives the holder the exclusive rights to reproduce and distribute a work and to authorize others to do so. ”
w:District Court of Appeal of Florida, Second District, Microdecisions, Inc. v. Skinner (2005)
“ The issue presented here is purely one of law; the facts are undisputed. We therefore examine whether the circuit court erred in denying Microdecisions' cross-motion for summary judgment. See Bridgham v. Skrzynski, 873 So.2d 496, 499 (Fla. 2d DCA 2004) ; Royal Neth. Realty, Inc. v. Ross, 421 So.2d 642, 643 (Fla. 3d DCA 1982) . We hold that Skinner has no authority to assert copyright protection in the GIS maps, which are public records. Accordingly, Microdecisions was entitled to summary judgment as a matter of law. ”
w:District Court of Appeal of Florida, Second District, Microdecisions, Inc. v. Skinner (2005)
“ The facts in this case are uncontested. Microdecisions compiles data concerning real estate in south Florida, then sells this product on its website. Its customers can pay to retrieve plats, maps, and information about property values and mortgage encumbrances, among other things. With this purpose in mind, Microdecisions sought copies of Geographic Information Systems (GIS) maps that Skinner created in the course of his official duties. No one disputes that the GIS maps are public records, but Skinner claimed they were copyrighted under federal law. ”
