John writes:
In a move that is, overall, unusual given the "sell standards to
support the business" model, [ISO] have made part of the 3166-1
list (the alpha-2 codes --which are what we use-- and the
short-form country names) available "for internal use and
non-commercial purposes" online and without charge in HTML, XML,
and semicolon-delimited forms.
What choice do they have? Two-letter codes cannot be copyrighted, patented,
or protected by trademarks in this context. How could they _restrict_ the
use of the codes?
Will the USPS soon begin charging people for putting ZIP codes on their
envelopes?