Is This Legal?

The courts have long held that the law is public domain and must be available to all for use without restriction. While numerous organizations have attempted to assert copyright over judicial branch opinions, legislative branch statutes, and executive branch regulations, the courts have not looked kindly on these efforts to place a private wrapper around a public package. If we are to be a nation of laws, those laws must be accessible to all.

Read More About States, the Law, and Copyright.

Funding the Code-Making Process

Standards-making bodies that make codes like to argue that they have to assert ownership over building, fire, electrical, plumbing, and mechanical codes because that is how they fund the code-making process. Sure, it would be great to own a piece of the law and people try repeatedly to assert ownership to protect their revenue stream. But, there are less regressive ways to fund the process.

A system of selling codes for hundreds of dollars and then making public access inconvenient by requiring you to drive long distances to an official depository library hurts us all. It hurts the kid studying for a state plumbers license, the homeowner wanting to check on the work of their contractor, and it certainly hurts the hobbyist, homeowner, or property developer wanting to understand our public codes and how they work.

THE SEAL'S CIRCLE OF APPROVAL

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