it's a browser extension that defeats the Pacer monopoly on (many) legal filings.
If you do have Pacer and download something, it automatically uploads it to a free server. Thus, it becomes free to everyone else. I think some Big Law firms must use it, because a surprisingly large number of docs are available free.
Legalities of this? They seem to be getting away with it.
The US government runs PACER itself, they don't contract it to a profit-motivated third-party. [1] As a result, they're pretty lenient. At one point, their website said: "The information gathered from the PACER system is a matter of public record and may be reproduced without permission".
So it's totally legal.
The RECAP people also make it _really_ easy to ingest documents. For example, lawyers can add a RECAP email address as one of their default contact addresses with the court. Then all filings on any case that lawyer is involved in get automatically ingested when they are filed.
[1]: Well, they outsource the administration to a third-party. But it seems more like a "we pay you, you keep the lights on", vs a public-private partnership where the third-party has a profit incentive based on the revenue of the service.
I put in the "legalities" part mainly because I was thinking of a similar extension to defeat Elsevier & other vultures of scientific publication. Those people might be more litigious.
That’s a great way to have your life savings drained, or worse. Don’t do it if you live anywhere where you can be nabbed by Uncle Sam. See Aaron Swartz, Alexandra Elbakyan.
My home province gave a private company a 50+ year monopoly on our land title records. I would _love_ something like RECAP for our land title records...but I suspect it's not possible to do it without violating the usage agreement that gets you the record in the first place.