[99cents]

CSA makes obscene profit margins on printed material. Now they're trying to drive the guy out of business who has been writing "Electrical Code Simplified" for decades. Obviously, they don't like competition. It's all about the money, nothing else.

www.restorecsa.com/news/article/revealed-csa-profit-margins

 

[Mshea]

CSA makes obscene profit margins on printed material. Now they're trying to drive the guy out of business who has been writing "Electrical Code Simplified" for decades. Obviously, they don't like competition. It's all about the money, nothing else.

www.restorecsa.com/news/article/revealed-csa-profit-margins

Is that actually profit or mark up? IE is that after all the expenses are tallied up?

So if I understand that Peter has passed on and his son Gordon is continuing to publish peters work? Peter used the Code without permission for as long as the redbook was published. Now CSA wants Gordon to get permission first and pay royalties on their work.

CSA owns the copywrite, legislators have upheald CSA rights to that intelectual property so all the laws apply. CSA probably found they were not protecting their copywrite and this could set precidence against all their published materials so I guess it is correct legally and perhaps necessary in a broad world wide perspective.

 

[cdnelectrician]

CSA makes obscene profit margins on printed material. Now they're trying to drive the guy out of business who has been writing "Electrical Code Simplified" for decades. Obviously, they don't like competition. It's all about the money, nothing else.

www.restorecsa.com/news/article/revealed-csa-profit-margins

That red book was awesome I learned alot from it when I was an apprentice, wish I still had it.

 

[jza]

Figures. I just paid over $150 for the 2012 code book.

 

[99cents]

Is that actually profit or mark up? IE is that after all the expenses are tallied up?

So if I understand that Peter has passed on and his son Gordon is continuing to publish peters work? Peter used the Code without permission for as long as the redbook was published. Now CSA wants Gordon to get permission first and pay royalties on their work.

CSA owns the copywrite, legislators have upheald CSA rights to that intelectual property so all the laws apply. CSA probably found they were not protecting their copywrite and this could set precidence against all their published materials so I guess it is correct legally and perhaps necessary in a broad world wide perspective.

Markup then. Let's get picky for the sake of conversation.

 

[chicken steve]

It's sounding like the old intellectual turf war 99....~CS~

 

[RFguy]

Crazy stuff:

The CSA is a privately registered not-for-profit corporation that is claiming to own certain of Canada’s public laws. Their argument is that CSA lobbied governments for certain changes to law, therefore the CSA owns the laws which incorporate those changes.

The issue of ownership of the rule of law is the subject of the current litigation between CSA and P.S. Knight Co. The CSA organization is suing P.S. Knight Co. for copyright violation because P.S. Knight Co. publications quote from the rule of law. In CSA’s view, P.S. Knight Co. has not paid CSA for the right to comment upon “their” laws.

 

[Navyguy]

The only place I can imagine worse would be orderline... biggest rip-off I have ever dealt with.

So based on this, if I quote a rule in an article I write I have to pay royalties? Does the government of Ontario have to pay for their code because essentially it is a copy and paste of the CEC?

I can't possibly seeing this having any legs... so it is probably legit then

Cheers

John

 

[FrunkSlammer]

Sounds like he's breaking the law.. but the laws should just be changed.

$150 for the code book seems reasonable.. $50/yr or $4/month. That's peanuts.

 

[jza]

So based on this, if I quote a rule in an article I write I have to pay royalties? Does the government of Ontario have to pay for their code because essentially it is a copy and paste of the CEC?

No. Because CSA is responsible for the Ontario code as well. They just add a few dozen additional rules.

 

[FrunkSlammer]

Each provinces adopts the code into law with their own amendments.

I guess Ontario just has a sheetload of them and they need to make a new book?

 

[jza]

Each provinces adopts the code into law with their own amendments.

I guess Ontario just has a sheetload of them and they need to make a new book?

Ontario is just Ontario.

 

[Kunolop]

CSA is a business, and if you could create such a business and have the same markups you would too. CSA or even UL have to do tons of r&d, before any code is added or changed and I can't imagine the insurance policy they will be carrying. Most of the CSA stuff I find is reasonable priced, you have to remember you really can only market the CEC books to electricians in Canada not every teenager across the world for instance. This drives margins higher, otherwise it wouldn't be worth doing. I would like to see the actual numbers, right from CSA though, cause the link provided was created by the same company that is being driven out if business! Seems fishy to me.

 

[jza]

CSA is a business, and if you could create such a business and have the same markups you would too. CSA or even UL have to do tons of r&d, before any code is added or changed and I can't imagine the insurance policy they will be carrying. Most of the CSA stuff I find is reasonable priced, you have to remember you really can only market the CEC books to electricians in Canada not every teenager across the world for instance. This drives margins higher, otherwise it wouldn't be worth doing. I would like to see the actual numbers, right from CSA though, cause the link provided was created by the same company that is being driven out if business! Seems fishy to me.

They've also got their hands in all the manufacturers wallets, pushing junk like TR receptacles in exchange for "funding" for "research and development".

 

[FrunkSlammer]

CSA Financials are public information:

http://www.csagroup.org/csa_core/ccurl/902/556/csa-ar11-12-en-web.pdf

Starts on page 17.