Notice2024-02499
Exemptions To Permit Circumvention of Access Controls on Copyrighted Works: Notice of Public Hearings
Primary source
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Published
February 7, 2024
Issuing agencies
Library of CongressCopyright Office, Library of Congress
Abstract
The United States Copyright Office will hold public hearings as part of the ninth triennial rulemaking proceeding under the Digital Millennium Copyright Act ("DMCA") concerning proposed exemptions to the DMCA's prohibition against circumvention of technological measures that control access to copyrighted works. Parties interested in testifying at the hearings are invited to submit requests to testify pursuant to the instructions set forth below.
Full Text
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<title>Federal Register, Volume 89 Issue 26 (Wednesday, February 7, 2024)</title>
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[Federal Register Volume 89, Number 26 (Wednesday, February 7, 2024)]
[Notices]
[Pages 8453-8454]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [<a href="http://www.gpo.gov">www.gpo.gov</a>]
[FR Doc No: 2024-02499]
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LIBRARY OF CONGRESS
Copyright Office
[Docket No. 2023-5]
Exemptions To Permit Circumvention of Access Controls on
Copyrighted Works: Notice of Public Hearings
AGENCY: Copyright Office, Library of Congress.
ACTION: Notice of public hearings.
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SUMMARY: The United States Copyright Office will hold public hearings
as part of the ninth triennial rulemaking proceeding under the Digital
Millennium Copyright Act (``DMCA'') concerning proposed exemptions to
the DMCA's prohibition against circumvention of technological measures
that control access to copyrighted works. Parties interested in
testifying at the hearings are invited to submit requests to testify
pursuant to the instructions set forth below.
DATES: Public hearings will be scheduled for the week of April 15-19,
2024. Requests to testify must be received no later than 11:59 p.m.
Eastern time on March 1, 2024. The Office will prepare a schedule based
on the number and nature of requests to testify. Once the schedule of
hearing witnesses is finalized, the Office will notify all participants
and post the times, dates, and agenda of the hearings at <a href="https://www.copyright.gov/1201/2024/">https://www.copyright.gov/1201/2024/</a>.
ADDRESSES: The Office will conduct the hearings remotely using the Zoom
videoconferencing platform. Requests to testify should be submitted
through the request form available at <a href="http://www.copyright.gov/1201/2024/hearing-request.html">http://www.copyright.gov/1201/2024/hearing-request.html</a>.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Rhea Efthimiadis, Assistant to the
General Counsel, by email at <a href="/cdn-cgi/l/email-protection#8ce1e9eaf8ccefe3fcf5fee5ebe4f8a2ebe3fa"><span class="__cf_email__" data-cfemail="f39e969587b3909c838a819a949b87dd949c85">[email protected]</span></a> or by telephone at
(202) 707-8350.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: On June 8, 2023, the Copyright Office
(``Office'') published a notice of inquiry in the Federal Register to
initiate the ninth triennial rulemaking proceeding under 17 U.S.C.
1201(a)(1), which provides that the Librarian of Congress, upon
recommendation of the Register of Copyrights, may exempt certain
classes of copyrighted works from the prohibition against circumventing
a technological measure that controls access to a copyrighted work.\1\
On October 19, 2023, the Office published a notice of proposed
rulemaking setting forth proposed exemptions for seven new or expanded
classes of works and requesting written comments.\2\ The responsive
comments received thus far are posted on the Office's website. See
<a href="https://www.copyright.gov/1201/2024/">https://www.copyright.gov/1201/2024/</a>.
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\1\ 88 FR 37486 (June 8, 2023).
\2\ 88 FR 72013 (Oct. 19, 2023).
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At this time, the Office is announcing public hearings to be held
via Zoom to further consider the proposed exemptions. Each hearing will
pertain to a proposed exemption and will feature a panel of witnesses.
Hearings will be live-streamed, recorded, transcribed, and posted to
the Office's website.
Those who wish to speak on a panel should submit a request to
testify by following the procedure detailed below. If the Office does
not receive any requests to testify regarding a particular class, it
will not host a hearing for that proposed exemption. If the Office
receives requests to testify but determines a hearing is not necessary,
it will contact requesters.
A. Submitting Requests To Testify
A request to testify should be submitted to the Office using the
form on the Office's website indicated in the ADDRESSES section above.
Anyone wishing to testify with respect to more than one proposed class
must submit a separate form for each request. To the extent feasible,
the Office requests that organizations submit only one panelist request
per proposed class and encourages parties with similar interests to
select a common representative to testify on their behalf. If multiple
persons from the same organization wish to testify regarding the same
proposed exemption, each should submit a separate request, and explain
in their submission the need for multiple witnesses. For parties
represented by law school clinics, the Office will attempt to
accommodate requests to allow students to participate under the
supervision of a faculty member.
Depending on the number and nature of the requests, and in light of
the limited time available, the Office may not be able to accommodate
all requests to testify. The Office will give preference to those who
have submitted substantive comments in support of or in opposition to a
proposal.
All requests to testify must clearly identify:
<bullet> The name of the person seeking to serve as a witness;
<bullet> The organization or organizations represented, if any;
<bullet> Contact information;
<bullet> The proposed class about which the person seeks to
testify;
[[Page 8454]]
<bullet> A two- to three-sentence summary of the testimony the
witness expects to present; and
<bullet> If the witness is requesting the ability to demonstrate a
use or a technology at the hearing, a description of the demonstration,
the approximate time required, and any functionality required to make
the demonstration viewable via Zoom. The Office cannot guarantee that
witnesses will have the ability to introduce demonstrative evidence
into the record during the hearing but will consider options to
accommodate such requests.
Following receipt of the requests to testify, the Office will
prepare agendas listing the witnesses, dates, and times for each
hearing. Once prepared, the agendas will be circulated to witnesses and
posted at <a href="http://www.copyright.gov/1201/2024">http://www.copyright.gov/1201/2024</a>.
B. Format of Public Hearings
The Office will establish time limits for each panel after
receiving all requests to testify. Generally, the Office plans to allot
approximately one to two hours for each proposed class, depending upon
the complexity of the class. Members of the public will be provided a
limited opportunity to offer additional comments for the record, but
parties who wish to provide detailed information to the Office are
encouraged to submit a request to testify.
The hearings will focus on legal or factual issues that the Office
finds unclear or underdeveloped in the written record, as well as
demonstrative evidence. Witnesses should be prepared to discuss, among
other things, where the copies of the works sought to be accessed are
stored, how those works can be accessed, and what would be done with
the works upon access. The Office also encourages witnesses to provide
real-world examples, descriptions, or demonstrations of methods of
access, uses, and technologies pertinent to a proposal.
Presenters who wish to hold demonstrations should consider whether
a demonstration is able to be presented in a format that enables it to
be viewed by participants and observers via Zoom. To ensure proper
documentation of the hearings, the Office will require that a copy of
any audio, visual, or audiovisual materials that have been prepared in
advance (e.g., slideshows and videos) be provided to it following the
hearing. The Office may contact witnesses individually ahead of time to
ensure that demonstrations can be preserved for the record in an
appropriate form.
C. Ex-Parte Communications
The Office plans to permit requests for ex parte meetings later
this year. Ex parte communications may be used to supplement, but not
substitute for, the written record and testimony at the public
hearings.
The Office recently issued regulations governing ex parte
communications during official rulemakings,\3\ which will govern in
this proceeding. Pursuant to those regulations, summaries of any ex
parte hearings will be publicly available on the Office's website and
will be part of the written record. The Office will provide more
information about the process, including the timing for meetings, on
its web page following the completion of the public hearings. No ex
parte meetings will be scheduled before that time.
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\3\ 88 FR 54491 (Aug. 11, 2023); see also 37 CFR 205.24.
Dated: February 2, 2024.
Suzanne V. Wilson,
General Counsel and Associate Register of Copyrights.
[FR Doc. 2024-02499 Filed 2-6-24; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 1410-30-P
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