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Re: NFPA 921
Posted by:
J L Mazerat (IP Logged)
Date: August 29, 2020 11:36AM
John:
I sent the emails. Thanks for the addresses. I checked with the International Code Council and they are planing to continue to furnish their documents in pdf format. I know it is NFPA's contention that they are loosing money because of the way these documents are being shares.Instead of developing a procedure that one could pay extra to have the type of use they are suggesting that is taking place they decide to restrict the use of the document.
There is more to this issue than meets the eye and there is some information that the NFPA is not saying about their decision. Little known to most of us is the fact that the NFPA is involved in a court fight on this issue that may not being going entirely their way. The case has been in the courts since 2013. The case is NFPA and other code bodies v Public.Resource.org., Inc. Standard developing organizations (SDOs) ASTM International, the American Society of Heating, Refrigerating and Air-Conditioning Engineers (ASHRAE) and the National Fire Protection Association (NFPA) originally sued PRO for copyright infringement in August 2013 for posting thousands of pages of technical standards online. PRO had argued that standards become “legal facts” when they’re incorporated into state or federal regulations and thus can’t be copyrighted.
The question there is once the codes or standard is adopted into law can it still strictly maintain its copyright restrictions. The argument is once the code or standard is adopted into law does the public have the right to free access. This free access could be free access to copies of the code or standard. In 2017, the lower court agreed with ASTM, ASHRAE and NFPA. In February 2017, it ordered PRO to remove the standards from its website. In 2018, the appeals court ruled that PRO could rely on a “fair use” defense to publish the standards. However, it didn’t rule on whether copyright can apply to federal laws. Court of Appeals and remained back to the District Court for additional consideration. It is important to remember that NFPA develops these codes and standards so that they could be adopted into law. It is expected no matter the ruling this case will end up in the Supreme Court. Basically what the NFPA is doing now is taking a preemptive strike that will be using their argument before the courts.
Jim Mazerat
Forensic Investigations Group