## Facts

- Suffolk County created and periodically updated official tax maps depicting real property ownership and parcel information within the county.
- The County alleged the maps contained original material reflecting selection and arrangement choices and registered them with the U.S. Copyright Office.
- First American obtained copies of the tax maps through a request under New York’s Freedom of Information Law (FOIL).
- First American published and commercially marketed the maps, or derivative products based on them, without the County’s permission.
- The County sued for copyright infringement under the Copyright Act.
- First American moved to dismiss under Rule 12(b)(6), arguing FOIL either placed the maps in the public domain or barred the County from asserting or enforcing copyright in records disclosed under FOIL.
- The district court dismissed the complaint on the ground that FOIL barred the County from asserting copyright and denied First American’s motion for attorneys’ fees.
- Suffolk County appealed the dismissal, and First American cross-appealed the denial of attorneys’ fees.

## Issues

1. Whether FOIL abrogates or otherwise precludes Suffolk County from asserting and enforcing federal copyright in its official tax maps.
2. Whether the tax maps are in the public domain from inception due to their governmental origin and FOIL disclosure requirements.
3. Whether the County’s complaint sufficiently alleged the minimal originality required for copyright protection at the motion-to-dismiss stage.
4. Whether First American’s cross-appeal seeking attorneys’ fees under 17 U.S.C. § 505 remained justiciable after appellate disposition.

## Decision

- The Second Circuit vacated the judgment dismissing the complaint and remanded for further proceedings.
- The court held that FOIL does not abrogate Suffolk County’s copyrights and that FOIL compliance can coexist with copyright enforcement.
- The court rejected the argument that the maps were public domain materials from inception merely because they are government records subject to FOIL.
- The court held the County adequately alleged originality to survive a Rule 12(b)(6) motion.
- The court dismissed First American’s cross-appeal for attorneys’ fees as moot because it was no longer the prevailing party.

## Legal Principles

- A state public-records disclosure statute requiring inspection and copying does not, without clear statutory language, extinguish or transfer federal copyright ownership in covered records.
- Required public access to obtain copies of records is distinct from unrestricted downstream reproduction, adaptation, or commercial exploitation; copyright may regulate subsequent uses subject to defenses (including fair use).
- The “public domain from inception” rule applicable to statutes and judicial opinions does not automatically extend to governmental compilations like tax maps that do not themselves constitute the law’s authoritative text.
- The originality threshold is low; a compilation may be copyrightable where it reflects original selection, coordination, or arrangement, and such originality allegations generally suffice at the pleading stage.
- Advisory opinions by state administrative bodies are not binding on federal courts and do not supply clear legislative abrogation of federal copyright rights.

## Conclusion

The Second Circuit held that FOIL’s access mandate does not place county tax maps in the public domain or bar enforcement of otherwise valid copyrights, and it reinstated Suffolk County’s infringement claims while dismissing the fee cross-appeal as moot.


Cnty. of Suffolk, N.Y. v. First Am. Real Estate Sols., 261 F.3d 179 (2d Cir. 2001)