A Threat To Justice—The Pro Codes Act Would Copyright The Law

"The proposed Pro Codes Act has sparked debate. In tax circles the discussion has centered particularly around its implications for tax policy and legal accessibility. In simple terms, the Act would allow elements of the law to be copyrighted by standards development organizations (SDOs)....

The Pro Codes Act seeks instead to resolve this ambiguity by explicitly allowing SDOs to retain copyright over their standards even after those standards are codified into law. This would mean portions of the law could be subject to copyright restrictions, impacting how these materials can be accessed, used, modified, and shared....

One concerning aspect of the Pro Codes Act is its potential to create barriers to research and compliance. Taxpayers rely on clear and accessible information to fulfill their legal obligations. If portions of the tax code are copyrighted, taxpayers and professionals may face hurdles in accessing the full text of the laws they are required to follow. This could give rise to both increased compliance costs and legal uncertainty....

As a more concrete example, if a tax provision incorporates a copyrighted standard, anyone—legal professional or taxpayer—seeking to view or distribute this provision would need to navigate copyright permissions and, in the case of distribution, potentially pay licensing fees. This fundamentally undermines the principle that laws should be freely accessible to all and not encumbered by intellectual property concerns...."