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its very important that this be handled by an independent party. Imagine if google was party to a lawsuit and could monitor what filings their legal opponents were looking at.

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Independent in what sense? Is there any entity who couldn't be sued?

Also, I'd imagine (hope) Google wasn't _the_ source, but instead a better interface/search engine over the data.

i think you misunderstand some of the purposes monitoring a filing. the general purpose of monitoring a filing is to hopefully have a legal opinion that supports your argument. the whole purpose is to cite it so your opponent responds to it and the judge agrees with you. knowing what filings your legal opponents are looking at does not provide an advantage. the law is the law. your opponent is going to cite the case in a brief, and you will respond to their citation. despite what tv shows, there is no perry mason moment. trials are not about surprises, the main gist is set in stone. and you will piss off a judge if you start citing cases in oral arguments that are not in your brief. ive seen it happen.

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