Recap (software)
Recap[1] is software which allows users to automatically search for free copies during a search in the fee-based online US legal database PACER, and to help build up a free alternative database at the Internet Archive.[2] It was created in 2009 by a team from Princeton University and Harvard University's Berkman Center.[1]
Recap is an extension for the Firefox and Chrome browsers which for each PACER document first checks if it has already been uploaded by another user to the Internet Archive; if no free version exists and the user purchases the document from PACER, it will automatically upload a copy to the Internet Archive.[2]
The Recap team uploaded 2.7 million documents Aaron Swartz had downloaded from PACER. These represented less than 1 percent of the documents in PACER.[3]
PACER continued charging per page fees after the introduction of RECAP.[4]
Some courts such as the District Court for the District of Massachusetts have explicitly stated that "fee exempt PACER users must refrain from the use of RECAP".[5]
See also
References
- ^ a b Center for Information Technology Policy (2013). "Home". RECAP The Law. Retrieved 2013-05-31.
{{cite web}}:|last=has generic name (help) - ^ a b Johnson, Bobbie (11 November 2009). "Recap: cracking open US courtrooms". The Guardian. London.
- ^ Lee, Timothy B. (2013-02-08). "The inside story of Aaron Swartz's campaign to liberate court filings". Ars Technica. Retrieved 2013-05-31.
- ^ Singel, Ryan (October 5, 2009). "FBI Investigated Coder for Liberating Paywalled Court Records". Wired. Condé Nast. Retrieved January 12, 2013.
- ^ "CM/ECF - USDC Massachusetts - Version 5.1.1 as of 12/5/2011-United States District Court".
External links
- RECAP The Law Project homepage
- Free Law Project