The Communicator

CSI Standards Licensing - An Opinion

At the Recent MARC26 we were pleased to have Jarrod Mann, Chair-Elect for the CSI National Board speak with us about the current issues that have arisen regarding the plans to license the CSI standards such as MasterFormat, UniFormat and SectionFormat.  

Dave Stutzman of Conspectus did a bit more research and sent out the following to his Conspectus subscribers. He has granted me permission to share with our Hampton Roads colleaugues. I believe SpecLink and MasterSpec may be on a similar path, at least the info in items 2-5 will be the same. 

Mark Dorsey, CEO of CSI released responses to questions received during the March 31 Town Hall meeting. In summary, for questions about the CSI Dynamic StandardsSM software, use cases requiring licensing, and licensing fees contact The Construction Standard. For questions about the CSI formats themselves, contact CSI. Here are links to their resources:

The Construction Standard

The Construction Specifications Institute

You can view CSI responses here: Town Hall Responses via CSI Discussion (you must login or create a new CSI Connect account).   Here are some of the most important takeaways for professionals and firms across our community: Conspectus is negotiating a license to use the CSI formats. While online in Conspectus Cloud, your work will be covered by our license.  Spec system subscribers cannot rely on our license. When you export documents from the system, or when you use CSI format numbers and titles for other purposes to provide paid professional services, you must license the Standards independently. Firms are licensed based on class and annual revenue. In addition, individuals within firms that use CSI Dynamic StandardsSM must be sublicensed to access and use the Standards. See the firm and individual licenses under FAQ #10 at the bottom of this page: https://theconstructionstandard.com/faq Manufacturers are a special class. Unless manufacturers provide paid professional services for consulting, specifications support, or technical deliverables, a license is not required. No policy regarding licensing for educators and students currently exists. The policy will be shared when created.

If you have any questions or concerns, please do not hesitate to contact us. We're happy to help you navigate this news at it continues to unfold.

David Stutzman AIA, FCSI, SCIP, CCS President | Conspectus, Inc Tuckahoe, NJ | 609.513.6992 Mon - Fri from 7AM - 8PM EST