Public Safety Codes of the World: Stand Up For Safety! by Carl Malamud, Public.Resource.Org » Meet the Code People — Kickstarter

"I post legally-mandated public safety codes, like the National Electrical Code, on our web site for anybody to read. The National Electrical Code is required by law by the Federal government and by all 50 states. But, not everybody thinks that's a good idea. In fact, 3 of the big Standards Development Organizations (SDOs) filed suit against me in U.S. federal court, alleging "massive copyright infringement." Ouch!...Let's be clear. The only thing that Public.Resource.Org wants to publish is the law. We don't care about standards that aren't the law. We don't care about value-added products. What we care about is that if an organization has law-making power, be they the Environmental Protection Agency or the National Fire Protection Association, we should all have the right to read, know, and speak the law!...When I got into the business of making the law available in 2007, there was no public access to public safety codes. You couldn't read your building code without passing the cash register. You couldn't build a web site that compared OSHA-required safety standards. You couldn't read hazardous material safety specifications after the BP Oil Spill....Making public safety codes isn't about money. The code people have lots of money. They're going to have to adjust their business models, but the Internet has forced all of us to do that. Making public safety codes available is about the rule of law, it's about the freedom of speech. If the code people get their way and they're the only ones able to post the law on their read-only, no-print, no-save, no-copy web sites, we've made a mockery of constitutional principles of due process, equal protection, and the freedom of speech...."