U.S. District Court Rules in Favor of Copyright Protection for Standards Incorporated by Reference into Federal Regulations

The American National Standards Institute (ANSI), the coordinator of the U.S. standards and conformity assessment system, is very pleased with the recent U.S. District Court ruling in favor of ASTM International, the National Fire Protection Association (NFPA), and the American Society of Heating, Refrigerating and Air-Conditioning Engineers (ASHRAE), whose standards are incorporated into federal law. The District Court Judge held that Plaintiffs’ standards did not enter the public domain upon their incorporation by reference into federal regulations and did not thereby lose their copyright protection. The decision represents a victory for the standards community and prevents Public.Resource.Org from posting standards developing organization (SDO)-copyrighted codes and standards to its public website.

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