I have been following this site and the copyright thread is attention-grabbing. I did a bit of rummaging around and found the amici curiae, which for those not legally inclined, is defined as “A party that is not involved in a particular litigation but that is allowed by the court to advise it on a matter of law directly affecting the litigation”. The amici has some fascinating associations. Certain of them are NFPA, BOCA, ICC, ANSI, ASAE, ASHRAE, UL, and believe it or not, the American Medical Association, and others. Each and every one of these associations has a legitimate concern in preserving copyright protection on their publications. The state of affairs that precipitated a setback to the domination by the associations was when governmental entities acknowledged assorted documents and the copyright holders allowed the codes to be integrated into laws which to all intents and purposes stripped the copyright shield. The ruling by the federal court substantiates court determinations from as far back as 1886 that law cannot be copyrighted. This does not mean that you may place the NEC or other copyrighted documents on a web site for free access. It does however mean that you may place the codes, ordinances, and laws of governmental agencies on a free access web site even if they contain a full copy of the NEC or other proprietary manuals.
Sam
