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Path: utzoo!utgpu!water!watmath!clyde!att!osu-cis!tut.cis.ohio-state.edu!rutgers!cmcl2!nrl-cmf!ames!pasteur!ucbvax!decwrl!pyramid!voder!kontron!optilink!cramer
From: cramer@optilink.UUCP (Clayton Cramer)
Newsgroups: comp.misc,misc.legal
Subject: Re: Intellectual property/copyrights
Message-ID: <261@optilink.UUCP>
Date: 8 Jul 88 22:48:41 GMT
References: <9160@cisunx.UUCP> <1801@uhccux.UUCP> <807@netxcom.UUCP> <23618@bu-cs.BU.EDU>
Organization: Optilink Corporation, Petaluma, CA
Lines: 42

In article <23618@bu-cs.BU.EDU>, bzs@bu-cs.BU.EDU (Barry Shein) writes:
> 
> There's an interesting letter to the editor in the latest Datamation
> (from an attorney) which seems to indicate that State institutions (in
> this case specifically UCLA) are immune in most cases from monetary
> damages due to copyright infringements (although they can be ordered
> to stop whatever behavior is being complained about.)
> 
> Apparently such things fall under the 11th Amendment (I don't have a
> copy of the Constitution handy, just summarizing.)
> 
> 	-Barry Shein, Boston University
> 
> (Datamation, July 1, 1988, p. 4)

PC Week carried an article about this case a while back.  UCLA was caught
pirating an engineering design package.  Their legal scum went to court,
admitted that UCLA had pirated someone's commercial package, far exceeding
the limits of the license, and then claimed (and the courts upheld them)
that Federal copyright law didn't apply to the States!  After reviewing
the text of the 11th Amendment:

    XI

    Passed by Congress March 4, 1794.  Ratified February 7, 1795.

    The judicial power of the United States shall not be construed to extend 
    to any suit in law or equity, commenced or prosecuted against one of the 
    United States by citizens of another State, or by citizens or subjects of 
    any foreign state.

(Isn't it wonderful to have the Constitution on-line?)

Now, this seems to be an utterly absurd reading of the 11th amendment --
it clearly states that federal courts shall have no jurisdiction for suits
brought against a State by citizens "of another State" -- and this particular
case involved a citizen of California suing the State of California.

Keep in mind that this *would unquestionably* protect UCLA from being sued 
in federal court by Microsoft, based in Washington.

Clayton E. Cramer