Here are my thoughts on the question, "Can the Law Be Copyrighted:"
1) In Georgia we currently use the 2012 International Building Code (IBC), which is a copyrighted document. The copyright notice is on page ii.
2) The 2012 IBC is not a "law".
2) The Uniform Codes Act is codified at chapter 2 of title 8 of The Official Code of Georgia Annotated. O.C.G.A. Section 8-2-20(9)(B). This Act is what makes it a law to comply with certain codes that are adopted in Georgia.
3) The Act directs the Georgia Department of Community Affairs (DCA) to adopt model codes, and and to publish Georgia Amendments.
4) To the best of my knowledge, the State of Georgia does not pay the International Code Congress a fee in connection with the State's adoption of model codes.
4) To me it makes sense for an IBC code to be a copyrighted document rather than an open source document. This gives states the confidence that a code is a fixed document, tested over time, that is not subject to alteration, unless the alteration is through a proscribed process.
5) I know there is free access online, but I purchase hard copies and PDFs from the International Code Congress. The prices seem nominal, considering the effort that the ICC has expended over many years to create these codes.
6) My impression is that in the US we have some of the best building codes and life safety codes in the world. I do not consider it a hardship to be one of many, many people who give financial support to the code creation and maintenance process by purchasing copies of the codes.
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Joel Laseter AIA
President
Joel Laseter Architect PC
Atlanta GA
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Original Message:
Sent: 04-26-2019 18:49
From: Zigmund Rubel
Subject: Can the Law Be Copyrighted?
Great discussion and so relevant!
I'm not a lawyer and do not want to play one. That being said, I have a hard time believing that the building codes are copyrighted. https://www.copyright.gov/help/faq/faq-general.html
I do not see a "Copyright" stamp on building codes I've used and I do not believe each release of the code is considered an original work of art, which is what copyrights are intended to protect.
That being said, the ICC and other agencies perform an invaluable duty crafting and creating the codes. They should be applauded and compensated for any interpretation or amendment to them, not access. I'm all for free access.
I share all this to question what should be the business model for us, as practitioners, to do our job with ever diminishing fees, and the ICC, or others, to be compensated for the work that they perform? Any thoughts?
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Zigmund Rubel FAIA
CEO
A Design+Consulting
Greenbrae CA
Original Message:
Sent: 04-25-2019 17:33
From: Allan Baer
Subject: Can the Law Be Copyrighted?
I just got a survey from ICC: in part
"The International Code Council wants to hear from you! As a user of the ICC free online codes database or ICC premiumACCESS service, we would love the opportunity to learn from your experiences and interactions with our software. As we continue to innovate for our 64,000 ICC members, your feedback will help us be more responsive to your needs and make working with codes simpler and easier."
I answered with as much passion as I could that these codes were in the public domain and we should have free access. As someone with a very small practice who uses the code rarely I cannot afford any of their options, and the free code can't be worked with easily.
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Allan Baer AIA
Principal
Baer Architecture NM
Santa Fe NM
Original Message:
Sent: 04-09-2019 20:27
From: Scott Reynolds
Subject: Can the Law Be Copyrighted?
Hi all,
I worked as an architect for a few years and was frustrated with the lack of tools to help navigate all the code. I helped start UpCodes to build products to help in the compliance workflow.
We host building codes as part of the services we offer to architects, other industry professionals, and homeowners.
The ICC brought a lawsuit against us which we have been defending for over a year. This lawsuit threatens our ability to innovate and create products that make industry more efficient. It threatens our ability to freely discuss and operate on the codes that control the design and construction of every project throughout the country.
TechCrunch has done a great job to cover the lawsuit: https://techcrunch.com/2019/04/09/can-the-law-be-copyrighted/
As a background: we are working on two products: UpCodes Web aggregates codes, integrates local amendments, and provides a search engine. UpCodes AI looks at Revit model to automatically flag code issues.
You can help by by spreading the word - either sharing the article above or our advocacy page.
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Scott Reynolds
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