U.S. Copyright Office
Library of Congress
Rulemaking on Anticircumvention

Rulemaking on Exemptions from Prohibition on Circumvention of Technological Measures that Control Access to Copyrighted Works

Section 1201(a)(1) title 17, United States Code

Federal Register Notice Seeking Written Comments (Oct. 6, 2008)

Federal Register Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (Dec. 29, 2008)

Proposed Classes

Comment Submission Form

 

Background

The Copyright Office is conducting this rulemaking proceeding mandated by the Digital Millennium Copyright Act, which provides that the Librarian of Congress may exempt certain classes of works from the prohibition against circumvention of technological measures that control access to copyrighted works.

The purpose of this proceeding is to determine whether there are particular classes of works as to which users are, or are likely to be, adversely affected in their ability to make noninfringing uses due to the prohibition on circumvention of access controls. This page contains links to published documents in this proceeding.

The Notice of Inquiry in this fourth anticircumvention rulemaking requests written comments from all interested parties, including representatives of copyright owners, educational institutions, libraries and archives, scholars, researchers and members of the public, in order to elicit evidence on whether noninfringing uses of certain classes of works are, or are likely to be, adversely affected by this prohibition on the circumvention of measures that control access to copyrighted works.

The entire records of the previous anticircumvention rulemakings are available. The first rulemaking took place in 2000. The second was in 2003. The third was in 2006.