Carl Malamud is taking on WestLaw and LexisNexis.

Carl Malamud has this funny idea that public domain information ought to be... well, public. He has a history of creating public access databases on the net when the provider of the data has failed to do so or has licensed its data only to a private company that provides it only for pay. His technique is to build a high-profile demonstration project with the intent of getting the actual holder of the public domain information (usually a government agency) to take over the job.

Carl's done this in the past with the SEC's Edgar database, with the Smithsonian, and with Congressional hearings. But now, he's set his eyes on the crown jewels of public data available for profit: the body of Federal case law that is the foundation of multi-billion dollar businesses such as WestLaw.

There's not much content there yet, but this would be such a welcome development if it takes off. The prices that WestLaw and LexisNexis charge are just outrageous as pretty much exclusive access to this public domain content. 

Thomson used to have a real racket with SEC filings, but the EDGAR database has definitely leveled the playing field. There are still companies out there charging for access to the data, but at least we're able to make our decisions based on the quality of their API and cost of the service instead of a monopoly or oligopoly situation.

If nothing else, this will hopefully force WestLaw and LexisNexis to either open up their services more for the public-domain information or at least drive prices down.