Why an AI ?spellcheck for buildings? may be sunk by copyright law
UpCodes, a startup trying to disrupt the business of building codes, believes fair use means free access A court case involving building codes?both how we create them, and where technology can help make them easier to understand?suggests the simple concept of accessing the law isn?t quite so straightforward.
The legal battle pits brothers Scott and Garrett Reynolds, founders of UpCodes, a startup that runs an online building code database as well as a nascent, AI-powered program that evaluates blueprints and designs, against the International Code Council (ICC), a 64,000-member non-profit that creates model building codes used in all 50 states.
The dispute stems from disruption. The ICC, which convenes panels of experts to create a model building code adopted by different levels of government, sells access to these codes (the group made $45.3 million in revenue in 2014). Average Americans and architects alike can access ICC codes via a read-only website for free; anything else, including premium online access and printed books, costs money. This business model?in effect, having the relevant professionals pay other professionals to maintain and improve a complicated bureaucratic code?has been a boon for the public, and ?created the safest buildings in the world today,? according to Whitney Doll, the ICC?s vice president of communications.
UpCodes online building code database currently has 220,000 paid subscribers.
UpCodes begs to differ. They ...
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