Washington — A bipartisan group of senators has introduced its version of the Pro Codes Act, which would provide copyright protection for voluntary standards that are incorporated into regulations from OSHA and other agencies.
Introduced March 19, the bill (S. 4145) is aimed at ensuring “safety standards do not lose copyright protection when they are incorporated into law by name so long as they are accessible for free on a publicly available website,” says a press release from Sen. Chris Coons (D-DE).
The protection would apply to any incorporation by reference, in full or in part, into any federal, state, or municipal law or regulation.
“When those standards are excellent, they should become universal, but that shouldn’t mean a penalty for the nonprofit organizations that developed them and stand to lose their intellectual property,” Coons said in the release. “I’m proud to introduce this bipartisan legislation that will make the public safer by ensuring nonprofits know they can develop better standards without fear of losing them.”
Sens. John Cornyn (R-TX), Mazie Hirono (D-HI) and Thom Tillis (R-NC) are co-sponsors of the bill, which is under consideration by the Senate Judiciary Committee.
The bill is a companion to a House version, which was introduced in June and is with the House Judiciary Committee.
