Sponsors (4)
The bill aims to make standards that become law more transparent and usable (including free, accessible, searchable copies) while preserving standards bodies' revenue models and clarifying legal status—but the compromise may shift costs to small standards organizations, complicate agency rulemaking, and leave enforcement gaps that still allow some paywalled access.
State, local, and federal governments can continue to adopt and use up-to-date technical standards developed by expert standards bodies, helping regulators apply consistent, expert-informed rules.
Small businesses, taxpayers, and the public will be able to read standards that are incorporated by reference online for free and in an accessible, searchable format (including Section 508 compliance), improving transparency and practical ability to comply.
Standards-development organizations can retain copyrighted sales and licensing models that provide revenue to support ongoing updates and expert consensus processes, helping sustain the technical work behind standards.
Small businesses and members of the public may still face practical paywall barriers to some incorporated standards if copyright protections are prioritized or redistribution is limited by standards bodies.
Federal, state, and local agencies could experience slower or more complex rulemaking and compliance processes because balancing public access with copyright protection may force licensing negotiations or extra clearance steps before incorporation.
Standards-development organizations—especially smaller or nonprofit bodies—may lose licensing revenue or incur significant operational costs to host free, searchable, and 508-compliant public copies, threatening their capacity to maintain and update standards.
Based on analysis of 3 sections of legislative text.
Preserves copyright in standards incorporated by reference only if the standards body makes the incorporated portions freely and searchable accessible online.
Creates a rule that preserves a standards-developing organization's copyright in technical standards that are incorporated by reference into law or regulation only if the organization makes the incorporated portions available to the public online at no cost and in a searchable format. It defines key terms, clarifies that reproducing a standard alongside a law does not change its incorporation-by-reference status, and places the burden of proof on anyone claiming a standards body failed to meet the access condition. The provision adds a new section to federal copyright law to protect copyrighted standards while promoting free public read-only access when standards are used in regulations, and it updates the Title 17 table of sections to list the new provision.
Introduced March 19, 2026 by Christopher A. Coons · Last progress March 19, 2026