Copyright Office Issues Notice of Inquiry Concerning Possible DMCA Circumvention Prohibition Exemptions | Practical Law

Copyright Office Issues Notice of Inquiry Concerning Possible DMCA Circumvention Prohibition Exemptions | Practical Law

The US Copyright Office has issued a notice of inquiry and request for petitions concerning possible exemptions to the Digital Millennium Copyright Act's (DMCA) prohibition against circumvention of technological measures that control access to copyrighted works. 

Copyright Office Issues Notice of Inquiry Concerning Possible DMCA Circumvention Prohibition Exemptions

by Practical Law Intellectual Property & Technology
Published on 16 Sep 2014 • USA (National/Federal)
The US Copyright Office has issued a notice of inquiry and request for petitions concerning possible exemptions to the Digital Millennium Copyright Act's (DMCA) prohibition against circumvention of technological measures that control access to copyrighted works.
On September 17, 2014, the US Copyright Office issued a notice of inquiry and request for petitions concerning possible exemptions to the Digital Millennium Copyright Act's (DMCA) prohibition against circumvention of technological measures that control access to copyright works (79 FR 55687-01). This is the sixth triennial rulemaking proceeding under the DMCA.
The Copyright Office is not currently requesting the submission of complete legal and factual support in connection with this notice. Instead, in this first step of the rulemaking process, parties seeking an exemption should submit a petition setting out the specified elements of the proposed exemption. After receiving the petitions, the Copyright Office will:
  • Consider the petitions.
  • Group or consolidate related and overlapping proposals.
  • Issue a notice of proposed rulemaking setting out the list of proposed exemptions for further consideration. That notice will invite full legal and evidentiary submissions.
The petitions sought under this request should:
  • Be limited to five pages.
  • Address a single proposed exemption.
  • Concisely address each of the following elements:
    • the submitter's identity and, if desired, contact information;
    • a description of the proposed exemption explaining the type of copyrighted work involved, the technological protection measure sought to be circumvented and any limitations or conditions that would apply;
    • a description of the technological protection measures that controls access to the work;
    • the specific noninfringing uses of copyright works sought to be facilitated by the circumvention and the bases that support the view that the uses are noninfringing; and
    • how the inability to circumvent the technological protection measures has or is likely to have adverse effects on the proposed noninfringing uses
The written petitions for proposed exemptions must be received no later than November 3, 2014.