[Federal Register Volume 65, Number 53 (Friday, March 17, 2000)]
[Proposed Rules]
[Pages 14505-14506]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 00-6711]


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LIBRARY OF CONGRESS

Copyright Office

37 CFR Part 201

[Docket No. RM 99-7B]


Exemption to Prohibition on Circumvention of Copyright Protection 
Systems for Access Control Technologies

AGENCY: Copyright Office, Library of Congress.

ACTION: Extension of deadline for reply comment period; notice of 
public hearings; and deadline for post-hearing comments.

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SUMMARY: The Copyright Office of the Library of Congress announces 
public hearings on the possible exemptions to the prohibition against 
circumvention of technological measures that control access to 
copyrighted works. The Office also announces the extension of the 
deadline for the submission of reply comments and announces the 
deadlines for submission of post-hearing comments. The hearings and 
comments relate to a rulemaking proceeding conducted in accordance with 
17 U.S.C. 1201(a)(1), which was added by the Digital Millennium 
Copyright Act, and which will determine whether there are ``classes of 
works'' as to which users are, or are likely to be, adversely affected 
in their ability to make noninfringing uses if they are prohibited from 
circumventing such technological measures.

DATES: The deadline for reply comments is extended to 5:00 p.m. E.S.T. 
on Friday, March 31, 2000. Public hearings will be held in Washington, 
DC on May 2-4, 2000 and in Stanford, CA, on May 18--19, 2000. Requests 
to testify must be received in the Office of the General Counsel of the 
Copyright Office by 5:00 p.m. E.S.T. on April 14, 2000. Post-hearing 
written submissions must be received no later than 5:00 p.m. E.S.T. on 
June 23, 2000. See SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION for additional information 
and other requirements.

ADDRESSES: The first round of public hearings will be held at the 
Library of Congress in Room LA-202 of the John Adams Building, 110 
Second Street, S.E., Washington, DC. The second round of public 
hearings will be held at Stanford University in Room 290, Stanford Law 
School, Crown Quadrangle, Stanford, CA. See SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION 
for additional address information and other requirements.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Robert Kasunic, Senior Attorney, 
Office of the General Counsel, or Charlotte Douglass, Principal Legal 
Advisor, Office of the General Counsel, Copyright GC/I&R, PO Box 70400, 
Southwest Station, Washington, DC 20024. Telephone: (202) 707-8380; 
fax: (202) 707-8366. E-mail inquiries regarding the hearings may be 
sent to [email protected].

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: On November 24, 1999, the Copyright Office 
published a Notice of Inquiry seeking comments in connection with a 
rulemaking pursuant to 17 U.S.C. 1201(a)(1), which provides that the 
Librarian of Congress may exempt certain classes of works from the 
prohibition against circumventing a technological measure that controls 
access to a copyrighted work. 64 FR 66139 (November 24, 1999). For a 
more complete statement of the background and purpose of the 
rulemaking, please see the Notice of Inquiry which is also available on 
the Copyright Office's website at: http://www.loc.gov/copyright/1201/anticirc.html.
    Subsection 1201(a)(1)(A) provides, inter alia, that ``No person 
shall circumvent a technological measure that effectively controls 
access to a work protected under this title.'' Subparagraph (B) limits 
this prohibition. It provides that the prohibition against 
circumvention of technological measures ``shall not apply to persons 
who are users of a copyrighted work which is in a particular class of 
works, if such persons are, or are likely to be in the succeeding 3-
year period, adversely affected by virtue of such prohibition in their 
ability to make noninfringing uses of that particular class of works 
under this title'' as determined in this rulemaking. This prohibition 
on circumvention becomes effective on October 28, 2000, two years after 
the date of enactment.
    During the 2-year period between the enactment and effective date 
of the provision, the Librarian of Congress must make the determination 
as to classes of works exempted from the prohibition. This 
determination will be made upon the recommendation of the Register of 
Copyrights in a rulemaking proceeding. The determination thus made will 
remain in effect during the succeeding three years.
    In response to the Notice of Inquiry, the Office received 235 
written comments that conformed to the requirements set forth in the 
Notice of Inquiry, as modified. The comments have been posted on the 
Office's website; see http://lcweb.loc.gov/copyright/1201/comments.
    The Copyright Office has received a request from Time-Warner Inc. 
to extend the deadline for submission of reply comments. Given the 
unexpectedly high volume of initial comments submitted and in order to 
accommodate the needs of all interested parties, the Copyright Office 
is extending the deadline for submissions of reply comments. Reply 
comments must be received in the Office of the General Counsel no later 
than 5:00 p.m. E.S.T. on March 31, 2000. For addresses and acceptable 
formats for reply comments, please see the section below entitled 
``Format and submission of reply comments and post-hearing comments.''
    The purpose of reply comments is to respond to points made in 
initial comments submitted in this proceeding,

[[Page 14506]]

and not to raise new issues for the first time.
    Public hearings: The Office will be conducting public hearings in 
Washington, DC on Tuesday, May 2, 2000, Wednesday, May 3, 2000, and 
Thursday, May 4, 2000 from 9:30 a.m. to 6:00 p.m. Public hearings will 
also be held in Stanford, CA on Thursday, May 18, 2000 and Friday, May 
19, 2000 from 9:30 a.m. to 6:00 p.m. Interested parties are invited to 
submit requests to testify at one of these hearings.
    Requirements for persons desiring to testify: A request to testify 
must be submitted to the Copyright Office. All requests to testify must 
include:
     The name of the person desiring to testify;
     The organization or organizations represented by that 
person, if any;
     Contact information (address, telephone, and e-mail);
     The location and date of the hearing at which the 
requestor wishes to testify; and
     A one page summary of the intended testimony.

This request may be sent by mail, by fax, or by hand-delivery. Requests 
by telephone or electronic mail will not be accepted. The Copyright 
Office will notify all persons wishing to testify of the date and 
expected time of their appearance, and the maximum time allowed for 
their testimony.
    Addresses for requests to testify: If delivered by mail: requests 
to testify should be addressed to Robert Kasunic, Senior Attorney, 
Copyright GC/I&R, PO Box 70400, Southwest Station, Washington, DC 
20024.
    If sent by fax: requests to testify should be addressed to Robert 
Kasunic at (202) 707-8366.
    If delivered by hand: requests to testify should be delivered to 
Robert Kasunic, the Office of the General Counsel, Copyright Office, 
Library of Congress, LM-403, James Madison Memorial Building, 101 
Independence Avenue, S.E., Washington DC.
    All requests to testify must be received by 5:00 E.S.T. on April 
14, 2000.
    Time limits on testimony at public hearings: There will be time 
limits on the testimony allowed for speakers. In the initial comment 
period, the Office received 235 written comments. Given the time 
constraints, only a fraction of that number could possibly testify at 
the hearings. The time limits will depend on the number of persons 
wishing to testify. Approximately one week prior to the hearings, the 
Office will notify all persons submitting requests to testify of the 
precise time limits that will be imposed on oral testimony. Due to the 
time constraints, the Copyright Office encourages parties with similar 
interests to select a single spokesperson to testify.
    Post-hearing comments: At the conclusion of the public hearings, 
the Copyright Office will accept post-hearing written comments that 
relate specifically to matters addressed at the hearings or identified 
in the reply comments. This post-hearing comment period is not intended 
to be an opportunity for interested parties to reiterate points they 
have already made or to raise new issues. Post-hearing comments must be 
received in the Office of the General Counsel no later than 5:00 p.m. 
E.S.T. on June 23, 2000.
    Format and submission of reply comments and post-hearing comments: 
The Copyright Office prefers to receive reply and post-hearing comments 
submitted in electronic format (by attachment to electronic mail or by 
delivery of 3.5-inch diskettes). While the Office prefers electronic 
submissions, reply and post-hearing comments in paper format will also 
be accepted. The applicable requirements for each form of submission 
are specified below:
    1. If by electronic mail: Send to ``[email protected]'' a message 
containing the name of the person making the submission, his or her 
title and organization (if the submission is on behalf of an 
organization), mailing address, telephone number, fax number (if any), 
and e-mail address. The subject heading of the message should also 
identify the document clearly as a reply or post-hearing comment. The 
document itself must be sent as a MIME attachment, and must be in a 
single file in either: (1) Adobe Portable Document File (PDF) format 
(preferred); (2) Microsoft Word Version 7.0 or earlier; (3) WordPerfect 
7 or earlier; (4) ASCII text file format; or (5) Rich Text File (RTF) 
format. At a minimum, the comment must contain the name of the person 
submitting the comment.
    2. If by regular mail or hand delivery: Send, to the appropriate 
address listed above, two copies of the comment, each on a 3.5-inch 
write-protected diskette, labeled with the name of the person making 
the submission and, if applicable, his or her title and organization. 
The document must be clearly identified as a reply or post-hearing 
comment. Either the document itself or a cover letter must also include 
the name of the person making the submission, his or her title and 
organization (if the submission is on behalf of an organization), 
mailing address, telephone number, fax number (if any), and e-mail 
address (if any). The document itself must be in a single file in 
either (1) Adobe Portable Document File (PDF) format (preferred); (2) 
Microsoft Word Version 7.0 or earlier; (3) WordPerfect Version 7 or 
earlier; (4) ASCII text file format; or (5) Rich Text File (RTF) 
format. At a minimum, the comment must contain the name of the person 
submitting the comment.
    3. If in print only: Anyone who is unable to submit a comment in 
electronic form should submit an original and fifteen paper copies by 
hand or by mail to the appropriate address listed above. The reply or 
post-hearing comment should contain the name of the person making the 
submission, his or her title and organization (if the submission is on 
behalf of an organization), mailing address, telephone number, fax 
number (if any), and e-mail address (if any). At a minimum, the comment 
must contain the name of the person making the submission.

    Dated: March 14, 2000.
David O. Carson,
General Counsel.
[FR Doc. 00-6711 Filed 3-16-00; 8:45 am]
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