We posted about this topic previously at Who Owns the Law? EFF and Public Resource in Intellectual Property Copyright Battle Over Privately Developed Standards Incorporated In Laws.
David Kravets at ArsTechnica Law & Disorder / Civilization & Discontents has a posting about ongoing litigation as Online legal publishers squabble over the right to copyright the law.
Kravets quotes Carl Malamud of Public.Resource.org as saying:
"It's a big deal."
... and that it is!