The problem with relying on that remedy is you're never going to get a test case to demonstrate it. You'll run up against inspectors arbitrarily denying approval, insurance companies enforcing the codes as "private" companies, local courts that care more about the status quo than the injustice of privatized law, etc. Even the tradespeople that would seemingly save the most from such a change actually benefit by keeping their field's knowledge obscure.
A better way of looking at this is these standards bodies have deliberately worked to get their codes incorporated into law. By being willful participants in the lawmaking process, they've accepted their work entering the public domain. This is analogous to other private organizations drafting legal codes (eg the Uniform Law Commission) and even legislators themselves.
A better way of looking at this is these standards bodies have deliberately worked to get their codes incorporated into law. By being willful participants in the lawmaking process, they've accepted their work entering the public domain. This is analogous to other private organizations drafting legal codes (eg the Uniform Law Commission) and even legislators themselves.