A contentious set of lawsuits between the International Code Council (ICC) and the National Fire Protection Association (NFPA) are no more. The two standards organizations reported they have settled their differences out of court on matters of copyright infringement and trademark issues.
The lawsuits were presented by both sides; the ICC had filed one against the NFPA, and the NFPA had filed two against the ICC.
"The time had come to put all these disputes behind us," said Rick Weiland, ICC's chief operating officer, in a statement announcing the settlement. "We would rather focus on serving our members and the public than continue to spend a lot of time and money on lawsuits."
Nonetheless, the ICC seemed to take one final jab at the NFPA in a press release on the subject. "We were confident we would win the cases," said Weiland.
The ICC is best known for its building codes, known as the I-codes. The NFPA works primarily with fire and life safety standards, which often expand to the realm of construction codes when appropriate.
