Protecting and Enhancing Public Access to Codes Act or the Pro Codes Act
This bill addresses copyright protections for privately-developed technical standards that are incorporated into a law or regulation (e.g., a state law that requires buildings to comply with the electrical standards developed by a private standards development organization).
Currently, there is not a consensus as to whether a technical standard that has been incorporated by reference into a law retains copyright protection. (A technical standard created by a private organization is typically eligible for copyright protection, but some courts have ruled that standards incorporated into law lose their copyright protections for various reasons. For example, some courts have held that incorporated standards effectively became law and therefore entered the public domain.)
Under this bill, a technical standard shall retain its copyright protection even if it has been incorporated by reference into a law or regulation, if the applicable standards development organization makes the standard available on a free publicly accessible online source and in a format that facilitates the location of specific content.
If a party asserts that an incorporated technical standard has lost its copyright protection because it has not been made available for free online, the party making that assertion shall bear the burden of proof.
The bill also includes reporting requirements for the Copyright Office and the Government Accountability Office (GAO). The GAO must conduct several studies and report on the findings, including the potential impacts of the bill on consumers and historically disadvantaged communities.
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