H.R. 4072 — Pro Codes Act

This section states congressional findings on the benefits of voluntary consensus standards developed by private standards development organizations through open, balanced processes; their widespread incorporation by reference into more than 23,000 sections of the Code of Federal Regulations, as well as state and local laws; the role of copyright protection in funding their development without taxpayer cost; existing federal policies such as OMB Circular A-119 (revised January 27, 2016); and the need to balance ongoing standards creation with public read access to incorporated standards, many of which standards development organizations already provide free online in read-only format.

This section adds §123 to chapter 1 of title 17, United States Code, preserving copyright protection for standards (i.e., technical standards under the National Technology Transfer and Advancement Act of 1995 or voluntary consensus standards per OMB Circular A-119) incorporated by reference into Federal, state, local, or municipal laws or regulations. Such protection is retained if the standards development organization, within a reasonable period after notice of incorporation, makes all incorporated portions publicly accessible online at no monetary cost in a searchable format compliant with section 508 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 (29 U.S.C. 794d), with the burden of proof on any party claiming noncompliance. (As background, incorporation by reference allows laws and regulations to adopt standards without reprinting their full text, a practice coordinated by NIST under 15 U.S.C. 272 to promote private-sector consensus standards; thus, this provision enables standards development organizations to protect their copyrights while ensuring public access.)