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WV Assessor Sues to Keep Tax Maps Off the Internet

Posted by ScuttleMonkey on from the define-overly-litigious dept.

An anonymous reader writes "After trying to charge $167,488 for their collection of county tax maps (in TIF format), West Virginia was forced by a judge to hand them over for a $20 'reproduction costs' fee. Now a county tax assessor has filed a lawsuit trying to block the tax maps from being put online, claiming copyright infringement and financial damages since fewer people are coming to her to buy paper copies at $8 per page."

4 of 222 comments (clear)

  1. They should talk with the RIAA by TristanGrimaux · · Score: -1, Flamebait

    RIAA knows exactly how to turn customers into criminals, and they really hate the Internet enough to give them free advice... well at a discount rate... I think.

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    Donde Ser Geek No Duele
  2. The lady is a hero. by tjstork · · Score: -1, Flamebait

    You've seen it, I've seen it - we all have: local-government's small fish. The things some of these people rationalize in their small ponds - especially when prompted emotion or greed - are just mind-boggling when viewed *from outside the situation*. This lady is a throwback that, sorry, needs to be thrown back into the general population and be replaced =/

    Look, the corporation has the money. They should pay it. We are already paying higher income taxes every year so corporations can have lower taxes. Christ, don't you want some of this money back? Do you seriously think this company making demographic spyware will benefit the people of West Virginia at all? No, if anything, this software is going to enable them to be exploited even more.

    How many corporate promises of a better life for states have been made, if only the government would just fork over everything for free. You know what the answer is? None!

    West Virginia is absolutely right to fight this. They are heros in my book.

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    This is my sig.
  3. Re:Defending the State by tjstork · · Score: 0, Flamebait

    Because anyone else can get the same data for the same price; making money by adding value is no sin; it's a good thing.

    So, since that company basically sued the state of West Virginia to get all of its data for $20, can I turn sue the company and get all of its data for, say, $20? That's where I'm coming from. If the information was so important, and so valuable, that you can make a billion dollar business with it, then, why is it so wrong for the state from which that information came from get a piece of the pie?

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    This is my sig.
  4. Dating your sister/cousin in WV by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0, Flamebait

    And making babies with your cousin or sister in WV.