The copyright issue was at the core of the Veeck case. While technically limited to the SBCCI and Mr. Veeck, with a ruling technically applicable only to one Federal district, I seriously doubt the greater principle advanced by Mr. Veeck will be challenged - let alone overturned.
Simply put, the court upheld the hoary rule that no man canown the law. Once a model code is adopted anywhere, by anyone, it's in the public domain.
The NFPA filed a 'friend of the court' brief when it looked like Veeck would be heard by the US Supreme Court, as did essentially everyone who writes codes. They can squirm all they want - and are trying like mad to circumvent the ruling - but I doubt any 'adopting by reference' strategem would fool the court.
Essentially every code is available, for free, on the internet ... provided you know where to look. For example, you might have to search "Alabama Fire Code" in order to find the Uniform Fire Code.
As for the capacity of code publishers to make money .... as I've pointed out in the past, some of the most profitable publishing houses dedicate themselves to publishing 'public domain' material. These houses make their money from the commentaries, indices, and related materials that they also offer. West, CCH, and Thomas are such examples.
