By requiring free and unrestricted access to standards referenced in the Official Journal, including search and printing capabilities, the European Commission’s proposal for a regulation on European standardisation challenges the digital reading-room model implemented by several standards bodies.
These reading rooms, including “IBR portals” (IBR stands for “incorporated by reference”), typically require registration and offer read-only access, with functions such as downloading or printing restricted. If adopted, the provisions in the proposal would represent a setback for organizations that favour this approach. That said, any copyright protection enjoyed by their texts would remain.
In the United States, the Pro Codes Act proposes to explicitly preserve copyright in standards incorporated by reference into legislation, in exchange for free online access compatible with the restrictions in existing IBR portals. Does the Pro Codes Act offer U.S. standards development organizations (SDOs) a better “deal” than the approach proposed in Europe?
More generally, what are we protecting when we defend copyright? Revenues, the capacity to invest, a market position, or a legal recognition whose economic value may be decreasing?
