Veeck v. Southern Building Code Congress Int'l

a federal court decision about the scope of copyright protection for laws adopted by state and municipal governments. A majority of the court held that, although copyright protection attached to model codes drafted by a private organization, copyright no longer applied as soon as the works were enacted into municipal law. The decision is noteworthy in part for extending the general principle, that laws and legislation are uncopyrightable, below the level of the federal government to states and municipalities. The decision is also noteworthy for the strong disagreement between the majority and the dissenting judges over the proper level of copyright protection for such works.