A recent court decision gave start-up UpCodes a win in its fight with the International Codes Council over intellectual property rights regarding building codes.
Upcodes hosts a database of one million sections of building codes from across the U.S. online in locations across the US. The company’s machine learning technology can match search results to location and relevancy to a project, streamlining the process of ascertaining building compliance with codes.
While the building codes are enacted as state and local law, groups such as ICC that create them consider them to be their intellectual property, and often charge users to access them. ICC sued UpCodes on this basis, with existing legal precedents unclear.
Last month, a U.S. District Court ruled that UpCodes’ use of the copyrighted codes fell under fair use law. This decision will allow UpCodes to use the ICC’s codes without their permission, so long as they’re doing so in an educational or transformative context.
But the fight isn’t over. The ICC has launched another suit against UpCodes, alleging false advertising and unfair competition.
Related Stories
Higher Education | May 5, 2022
To keep pace with demand, higher ed will have to add 45,000 beds by year-end
The higher education residential sector will have to add 45,000 beds by the end of 2022 to keep pace with demand, according to a report by Humphreys & Partners Architects.
Legislation | May 4, 2022
Washington is first state to mandate all-electric heat for new large buildings
Washington recently became the first state to require all electric heat for new buildings.
Sponsored | Healthcare Facilities | May 3, 2022
Planning for hospital campus access that works for people
This course defines the elements of hospital campus access that are essential to promoting the efficient, stress-free movement of patients, staff, family, and visitors. Campus access elements include signage and wayfinding, parking facilities, transportation demand management, shuttle buses, curb access, valet parking management, roadways, and pedestrian walkways.
Codes and Standards | May 3, 2022
American Institute of Steel Construction updates environmental product declarations
The American Institute of Steel Construction has released updated environmental product declarations (EPDs) “to help designers and building owners design more environmentally friendly buildings and bridges,” according to an AISC news release.
Codes and Standards | May 2, 2022
Developer Hines, engineer MKA develop free embodied carbon reduction guide
Real estate management and investment firm Hines has released the Hines Embodied Carbon Reduction Guide. The free guide, produced with Magnusson Klemencic Associates (MKA), is the result of a two-year effort, relying on MKA’s industry-leading knowledge of carbon accounting and involvement in programs such as the Embodied Carbon in Construction Calculator (EC3) Tool.
Codes and Standards | Apr 28, 2022
Architecture firm Perkins&Will to deliver ‘carbon forecasts’ for clients
Global architecture firm Perkins&Will says it will issue its clients a “carbon forecast” for their projects.
Codes and Standards | Apr 27, 2022
White House guidance on Buy American for infrastructure includes waiver process
Recently released guidance on the Buy American provision within the $1.2 trillion Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act released by the Office of Management and Budget includes a waiver process.
Multifamily Housing | Apr 26, 2022
Investment firm Blackstone makes $13 billion acquisition in student-housing sector
Blackstone Inc., a New York-based investment firm, has agreed to buy student-housing owner American Campus Communities Inc.
Codes and Standards | Apr 25, 2022
Supply chain constraints, shifting consumer demands adding cost pressures to office fit-outs
Cushman & Wakefield’s 2022 Americas Office Fit-Out Cost Guide found supply chain constraints and shifting consumer demands will continue to add pressure to costs, both in materials and labor.
Legislation | Apr 21, 2022
NIMBYism in the Sunbelt stymies new apartment development
Population growth in Sunbelt metro areas is driving demand for new apartment development, but resistance is growing against these projects.
