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Home > Legislation > 118th Congress > H.R.1631

All Information (Except Text) for H.R.1631 - Pro Codes Act 118th Congress (2023-2024) |

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Sponsor: Rep. Issa, Darrell E. [R-CA-48] (Introduced 03/17/2023)
Committees: House - Judiciary
Committee Meetings: 04/16/24 10:00AM 03/21/24 10:00AM 07/19/23 9:00AM (All Meetings)
Latest Action: House - 04/17/2024 Ordered to be Reported (Amended) by the Yeas and Nays: 19 - 4.  (All Actions)
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This bill has the status Introduced

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  1. Introduced
  2. Passed House
  3. Passed Senate
  4. To President
  5. Became Law

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Titles Actions Overview All Actions Cosponsors Committees Related Bills Subjects Latest Summary All Summaries

Titles (3)

Short Titles

Short Titles - House of Representatives

Short Title(s) as Introduced

Pro Codes Act
Protecting and Enhancing Public Access to Codes Act

Official Titles

Official Titles - House of Representatives

Official Title as Introduced

To amend title 17, United States Code, to reaffirm the importance of, and include requirements for, works incorporated by reference into law, and for other purposes.

Actions Overview (1)

Date Actions Overview
03/17/2023 Introduced in House

All Actions (8)

Date All Actions
04/17/2024 Ordered to be Reported (Amended) by the Yeas and Nays: 19 - 4.
Action By: Committee on the Judiciary
04/17/2024 Committee Consideration and Mark-up Session Held
04/16/2024 Committee Consideration and Mark-up Session Held
07/19/2023 Committee Consideration and Mark-up Session Held
07/19/2023 the motion to favorably report was withdrawn by unanimous consent
07/19/2023 Committee Consideration and Mark-up Session Held
Action By: Committee on the Judiciary
03/17/2023 Referred to the House Committee on the Judiciary.
Action By: House of Representatives
03/17/2023 Introduced in House
Action By: House of Representatives

Cosponsors (19)

Cosponsor Date Cosponsored
Rep. Ross, Deborah K. [D-NC-2]* 03/17/2023
Rep. Raskin, Jamie [D-MD-8] 05/22/2023
Rep. Titus, Dina [D-NV-1] 06/12/2023
Rep. Nehls, Troy E. [R-TX-22] 06/12/2023
Rep. Moran, Nathaniel [R-TX-1] 06/23/2023
Rep. Lieu, Ted [D-CA-36] 07/11/2023
Rep. Neguse, Joe [D-CO-2] 07/13/2023
Rep. Cline, Ben [R-VA-6] 07/13/2023
Rep. Fitzgerald, Scott [R-WI-5] 07/17/2023
Rep. Kiley, Kevin [R-CA-3] 07/17/2023
Rep. Moore, Barry [R-AL-2] 07/18/2023
Rep. Jackson Lee, Sheila [D-TX-18] 07/19/2023
Rep. Caraveo, Yadira [D-CO-8] 09/20/2023
Rep. Yakym, Rudy [R-IN-2] 09/28/2023
Rep. LaLota, Nick [R-NY-1] 10/17/2023
Rep. Norcross, Donald [D-NJ-1] 11/02/2023
Rep. Bishop, Dan [R-NC-8] 03/19/2024
Rep. Bentz, Cliff [R-OR-2] 03/19/2024
Rep. Gooden, Lance [R-TX-5] 03/19/2024

Committees (1)

Committees, subcommittees and links to reports associated with this bill are listed here, as well as the nature and date of committee activity and Congressional report number.

Committee / Subcommittee Date Activity Related Documents
House Judiciary 03/17/2023 Referred to
07/19/2023 Markup by
07/19/2023 Unknown
04/16/2024 Markup by
04/17/2024 Markup by

Related Bills (1)

Bill relationships are identified by the House, the Senate, or CRS, and refer only to same-congress measures. Read more About Related Bills.

Subjects (5)

Latest Summary (1)

There is one summary for H.R.1631. View summaries

Shown Here:
Introduced in House (03/17/2023)

Protecting and Enhancing Public Access to Codes Act or the Pro Codes Act

This bill addresses copyright protections for privately-developed technical standards that are incorporated into a law or regulation (e.g., a state law that requires buildings to comply with the electrical standards developed by a private standards development organization).

Currently, there is not a consensus as to whether a technical standard that has been incorporated by reference into a law retains copyright protection. (A technical standard created by a private organization is typically eligible for copyright protection, but some courts have ruled that standards incorporated into law lose their copyright protections for various reasons. For example, some courts have held that incorporated standards effectively became law and therefore entered the public domain.)

Under this bill, a technical standard shall retain its copyright protection even if it has been incorporated by reference into a law or regulation, if the applicable standards development organization makes the standard available on a free publicly accessible online source.

If a party asserts that an incorporated technical standard has lost its copyright protection because it has not been made available for free online, the party making that assertion shall bear the burden of proof.