In American Society for Testing and Materials (ASTM) v. Public.Resource.Org, Inc., the D.C. Court of Appeals held on Sept. 12, 2023 that "Public Resource’s copying of material [217 industry standards] incorporated by reference into law, for free dissemination to the public, was fair use." This is likely not the last word on this subject*: the case began in 2013, was appealed, then stayed pending the Supreme Court's decision in the 2020 case of Georgia v. Public.Resource.Org (which held that annotated versions of state laws were not restricted by copyright). (h/t Fred Wilf)
"Public Resource posts standards that government agencies have incorporated into law — no more and no less. If an agency has given legal effect to an entire standard, then its entire reproduction is reasonable in relation to the purpose of the copying, which is to provide the public with a free and comprehensive repository of the law." (from D.C. Court of Appeals opinion by Judge Katsas, September 12, 2023)You can read the opinion on our site or on the court's site.
Opinion - ANSI v. PublicResource
.org
Download ORG • 206KB
*Update January 25, 2024: My prediction notwithstanding, the case was not appealed to the Supreme Court.