Although it's absurd, it's been claimed many times before. For example, municipalities incorporate model building codes as law, which publishers objected to being placed online. In 2002 this issue bubbled up to the 5th circuit which held that the laws were not subject to copyright protection. The case is Veeck v. Southern Building Code Congress, 293 F.3d 791:

https://bulk.resource.org/courts.gov/c/F3/293/293.F3d.791.99...

This is compelling precedent if the copyright dispute ever reaches the federal district court in DC.