U.S. Federal District Court Clears Path for ICC Copyright Complaint against IAPMO

A Federal Court on Monday cleared the path for ICC Evaluation Service, LLC (ICC-ES) to proceed with its copyright infringement complaint against the International Association of Plumbing and Mechanical Officials, Inc. (IAPMO) when the court denied IAPMO’s motion to have the case dismissed

On January 13, 2016, ICC-ES, a subsidiary of the International Code Council (ICC), filed a lawsuit against IAPMO and IAPMO Evaluation Service, LLC, in the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia, alleging the willful and unauthorized copying of at least seventeen ICC-ES copyrighted works, including fourteen ICC-ES evaluation reports and four acceptance criteria that thousands of designers, manufacturers, and building safety and fire prevention professionals rely on to ensure the highest standards of construction safety across the United States.

IAPMO responded by asking the Court to dismiss the case.

In a 25-page opinion, U.S. District Judge Emmet G. Sullivan struck down IAPMO’s arguments to dismiss ICC-ES’ Federal copyright claims as “unavailing,” noting that side-by-side comparisons of ICC-ES’ copyrighted materials with IAPMO’s allegedly infringing works that were presented to the Court as evidence along with ICC-ES’ complaint, “could permit a reasonable observer to conclude that appropriation occurred.”

IAPMO now must submit an answer to the Court responding to ICC-ES’ copyright infringement claim by October 3, 2016.

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