We have obtained a copy of the letter that Acting Register of Copyrights Karyn Temple Claggett sent to David F Levi, Dean of Duke University Law and President of the American Law Institute. On Jan 16th she clearly warned Levi that the project will mislead judges. Why is Levi still pursuing this? Is misleading judges the point of the project? If one reads the original letter between project leader Christopher J Sprigman and the ALI director, it seems like that is more or less the intent from the beginning. Levi is a former federal jurist.
Claggett states
“Ultimately, as thoughtful and ambitious as it may be, the Restatement project appears to create a pseudo-version of the Copyright Act that does not mirror the law precisely as Congress enacted it and one that will quickly become outdated as Congress amends it or the courts clarify it. As a result, the attorney or judge who relies on it will often be misled. That outcome would not serve the ALI’s mission “to promote the clarification and simplification of the law.” For these reasons, we again urge the ALI to reconsider the project as a whole.”
More on this story see:
The Trichordist 