A Texas state appeals court ruled that Texas can infringe upon copyright without risking punishment under the state’s or federal government’s “takings” clause.

After Olive sued the university, the university pushed for the case to be dismissed because the public institution has sovereign immunity, which protects state government entities from a variety of lawsuits. Olive’s side responded by arguing that the copyright infringement was an unlawful “taking” under the state’s constitution, which prohibits the government from taking private property without adequately compensating the owner.

So it appears a Texas court doesn’t think copyright infringement is a taking. I think the “takings” argument will convince a U.S. court in the near future. Until then, here’s another interesting article via Reason.com on qualified immunity (“which essentially allows public officials to violate a constitutional right as long as the right has not yet been clearly established in the courts.”).