It undermines transparency and access.

Derek Chipman, “Authors Alliance Signs Onto Letter Opposing the Pro Codes Act,” Authors Alliance, 05-11-2022, https://www.authorsalliance.org/2022/05/11/authors-alliance-signs-onto-letter-opposing-the-pro-codes-act/

While the sponsors of the bill promote it as a step forward for transparency and access, it could be problematic for both. As David Halperin, Counsel of PublicResurce.Org, explains, this act could allow SDOs as well as other private parties that publish text “later incorporated into a law could use copyright law to block people from reciting or distributing the text . . . so long as they offer that text on a website somewhere.” While it may seem that the bill improves access by requiring the SDOs to post their codes online, it could actually limit access by giving a copyright interest to the SDOs and allowing them control over access. EFF astutely characterizes the proposed bill as a “Wolf in Sheep’s clothing” that could allow SDOs to assert a monopoly over their standards and codes via paywalls and restrictive licensing, likening this outcome to allowing them to “put up tollbooths in front of huge swaths of U.S. Law.” EFF also points out that the mandate that the SDOs make the codes publicly accessible is unnecessary, as the non-profit PublicResource.Org is already making these codes and standards available without burdensome restrictions. PublicResource.Org is a non-profit that promotes access to government records and documents by making them freely available online, and was a co-signer in the letter opposing the Act. As noted earlier, the NFPA and other SDOs claim they have a copyright in their standards even if incorporated into public law. With this theory in mind, certain SDOs launched a lawsuit against PublicResource.Org under a Copyright infringement claim, but a recent district court decision ruled the majority of its sharing was fair use.