Read this! Lawsuit: MAPPS v. U.S.

The front page of the AAG.org site has news about an ongoing case in federal court that relates to the GIS industry in the US. MAPPS has sued the federal government to exclude everyone but licensed engineers and surveyors from federal government contracts for “mapping” services of every sort and description – not just those mapping services traditionally performed by surveyors. This is from the AAG legal background paper: "If this claim prevails, it could affect not only GIS but also other mapping activities, potentially including GIS field data collection, internet mapping activities, geospatial data analysis, remote sensing, cartographic services, and map creation of almost any type. This is because the Brooks Act effectively restricts the award of all federal contracts for “architectural and engineering” services to firms licensed to practice either architecture or engineering. In short, the lawsuit threatens to hijack the GIS and related industries by excluding anyone and everyone other than licensed engineers or surveyors from receiving any type of federal mapping contract. " (bold emphasis mine.) Stay tuned on the AAG website.