A group of Ohio State Bar Association (OSBA) members began investigating computer assisted legal research technology in the mid 1960s, subsequently forming a nonprofit subsidiary in 1967, the Ohio Bar Automated Research ( OBAR
), to develop a computer assisted legal research system for Ohio lawyers.
OBAR
contracted with Data Corporation, an Ohio based company specializing in information retrieval, to create the service. Essentially Data Corporation would provide the technology development while
OBAR
would raise funds, market, and administer the service (also called
OBAR
); both entities were to divide sales revenues. Computer assisted legal research proved feasible; but response time, communication protocol, and other issues were problematic. More funding was necessary to solve technical issues, but both
OBAR
and Data Corporation had constraints about committing to additional funding.
Unexpectedly, U.S. based Mead Corporation acquired Data Central as a wholly owned subsidiary in 1969. Initially interested in Data Corporation's scanning technology, Mead became interested in the automated search service developed by OBAR
and Data Corporation. Mead's market research indicated that while a market for online research existed, the existing database required substantial rebuilding. Deciding to go forward with developing an online system, Mead formed a new subsidiary, Mead Data Central (MDC), to concentrate solely on a nationwide automated legal research system. During the next few years Mead invested millions of dollars in the redevelopment of the database, although
OBAR's
early concept for a full text, interactive system remained.
By 1971, points of tension developed in OBAR
and MDC's non-profit/commercial joint venture, but
OBAR
continued to promote the system, while MDC handled the business and technical aspects. In 1971
OBAR
sold its proprietary interests to Mead Data Central, re