The Problem with Free

Why copyright protection is so important for standards developers Standards development organizations like NFPA are in the midst of a fight that impacts the very core of our mission, NFPA President Jim Pauley wrote in his latest column. Some opponents say the standards system should be free, while others say they would dismantle the private sector standards system altogether in favor of a government system for codes and standards. However, this is not realistic. The federal Office of Management and Budget [OMB] has maintained a strong preference for voluntary consensus standards, rather than government-created standards. Many other government entities have...