2003 Feb 25
WMO Resolution 40 SYNOP Data

Restricted SYNOP reports are not to be exported out of the U.S. nor made
available to any commercial entity who would use them to create products
for sale.  This is especially important to the countries who provide NCEP
with access to data, as many of their local meteorological services must
recover a portion of their budgets by creating certain products for sale
within their own and neighboring countries.  Therefore, they do not want
this data to become available to private entities who would use it to
create competing commercial products for sale within the same market.

The restriction does not have an expiration, meaning that all restricted
SYNOP reports remain accessible only to the allowable set of recipients
for perpetuity.