S. 835 · 118th Congress
Pro Codes Act
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Never voted on. It didn't reach a floor vote before the 118th Congress ended, so it expired. A bill has to be introduced again to be considered in a new Congress.
D
CoonsSponsor4 cosponsors · 2 D, 2 R
3 signed on when it was introduced; the rest joined later. Cosponsors who withdrew aren't shown.
Protecting and Enhancing Public Access to Codes Act or the Pro Codes Act
What it does: CRS summary · Introduced in Senate · Mar 16, 2023
Protecting and Enhancing Public Access to Codes Act or the Pro Codes Act
This bill addresses copyright protections for privately-developed technical standards that are incorporated into a law or regulation (e.g., a state law that requires buildings to comply with the electrical standards developed by a private standards development organization).
Currently, there is not a consensus as to whether a technical standard that has been incorporated by reference into a law retains copyright protection. (A technical standard created by a private organization is typically eligible for copyright protection, but some courts have ruled that standards incorporated into law lose their copyright protections for various reasons. For example, some courts have held that incorporated standards effectively became law and therefore entered the public domain.)
Under this bill, a technical standard shall retain its copyright protection even if it has been incorporated by reference into a law or regulation, if the applicable standards development organization makes the standard available on a free publicly accessible online source.
If a party asserts that an incorporated technical standard has lost its copyright protection because it has not been made available for free online, the party making that assertion shall bear the burden of proof.
Written by the nonpartisan Congressional Research Service. All summary versions on Congress.gov
About this bill and sources
Official title: Pro Codes Act
Also known as: Protecting and Enhancing Public Access to Codes Act
Latest action (Mar 16, 2023): Read twice and referred to the Committee on the Judiciary.
Policy area: Commerce · Origin: Senate · Introduced: Mar 16, 2023
Official page on Congress.gov · Bill text (GovInfo) · Status record (XML)
No recorded floor vote found.