[Federal Register Volume 74, Number 44 (Monday, March 9, 2009)]
[Notices]
[Pages 10096-10097]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: E9-4913]


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LIBRARY OF CONGRESS

Copyright Office

37 CFR Part 201

[Docket No. RM 2008-8]


Notice of Public Hearings: Exemption to Prohibition on 
Circumvention of Copyright Protection Systems for Access Control 
Technologies

AGENCY: Copyright Office, Library of Congress.

ACTION: Notice of Public Hearings.

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SUMMARY: The Copyright Office of the Library of Congress will be 
holding public hearings on the possible exemptions to the prohibition 
against circumvention of technological measures that control access to 
copyrighted works. In accordance with the Copyright Act, as amended by 
the Digital Millennium Copyright Act, the Office is conducting its 
triennial rulemaking proceeding 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 if 
they are prohibited from circumventing such technological measures.

DATES: The first public hearing will be held in Palo Alto, California 
on Friday, May 1, 2009, at 9:00 a.m. Public hearings will also be held 
in Washington, DC on Wednesday, May 6, 2009, Thursday, May 7, 2009, and 
Friday, May 8, 2009, at 10:00 a.m. Requests to testify must be received 
by 5:00 p.m. E.D.T. on Friday, April 3, 2009. See SUPPLEMENTARY 
INFORMATION for additional information on other requirements.

ADDRESSES: The Palo Alto hearings will be held in the Moot Court Room 
of the Stanford Law School, Crown Quadrangle, Palo Alto, CA.
    The Washington, DC round of public hearings will be held in the 
Copyright Hearing Room, LM-408 of the James Madison Building of the 
Library of Congress, 101 Independence Ave, SE., Washington, DC. See 
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION for additional address information and other 
requirements.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Robert Kasunic, Principal Legal 
Advisor, Office of the General Counsel, Copyright GC/I&R, PO Box 70400, 
Washington, DC 20024-0400. Telephone (202) 707-8380; fax (202) 707-
8366. Requests to testify may be submitted through the request form 
available at http://www.copyright.gov/1201/.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: On October 6, 2008, the Copyright Office 
published a Notice of Inquiry seeking comments in connection with a 
rulemaking pursuant to section 1201(a)(1) of the Copyright Act, 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. 73 FR 58073 (October 6, 2008). On December 29, 2008, 
the Copyright Office published a Notice of Proposed Rulemaking listing 
the proposed exemptions and requesting responsive comments. 73 FR 79425 
(December 29, 2008). For all of the documents submitted and published 
within the current rulemaking proceeding, and for a more complete 
statement of the background and purpose of the rulemaking, please see 
the Copyright Office's website at: http://www.copyright.gov/1201/. The 
19 initial written comments proposing classes of works to be exempted 
and the 56 responsive comments also have been posted on the Office's 
website; see http://www.copyright.gov/1201/.
    The Office will be conducting public hearings in Palo Alto, 
California and Washington, DC to hear testimony

[[Page 10097]]

relating to the proposed exemptions in this rulemaking. Interested 
parties are invited to submit requests to testify at these hearings. 
The date for the hearing in Palo Alto, CA is May 1, 2009. The dates for 
the Washington, DC hearings are May 6, May 7, and May 8, 2009. 
Depending on the number of requests to testify received by the 
Copyright Office, it may not be necessary to conduct hearings on all of 
the available days. The hearings will be organized by subject matter, 
and while the Copyright Office will attempt to accommodate preferences 
for particular dates, such accommodations may not be possible.

Requirements for persons desiring to testify:

    A request to testify must be submitted to the Copyright Office. All 
requests to testify must clearly identify:
     the name of the person desiring to testify,
     the organization or organizations represented, if any,
     contact information (address, telephone, and email),
     the class of work on which you wish to testify (if you 
wish to testify on more than one proposed class of work, please state 
your order of preference),
     a brief summary of your proposed testimony,
     a description of any audiovisual material or demonstrative 
evidence, if any, that you intend to present,
     a description of any material you intend to distribute, if 
any, at the hearing,
     the location of the hearing at which you wish to testify 
(Washington, DC or Palo Alto, CA),
     dates on which you wish to testify in order of preference. 
Note: Because the agenda will be organized based on subject matter, we 
cannot guarantee that we can accommodate requests to testify on 
particular dates.

Depending on the number and nature of the requests to testify, it is 
possible that the Office will not be able to accommodate all 
requests to testify.

    All persons who submit a timely request to testify will receive 
confirmation by email or telephone. The Copyright Office will notify 
all witnesses of the date and expected time of their appearance, and 
the time allocated for their testimony.

Addresses for requests to testify:

    Requests to testify must be submitted via the Copyright Office's 
website form located at http://www.copyright.gov/1201/ and must be 
received by 5:00 p.m. E.D.T. on Friday, April 3, 2009. Persons who are 
unable to send requests via the website should contact Rob Kasunic, 
Principal Legal Advisor, Office of the General Counsel at (202) 707-
8380 to make alternative arrangements for submission of their requests 
to testify.

Form and limits on testimony at public hearings:

    There will be time limits on the testimony allowed for persons 
testifying that will be established after receiving all requests to 
testify. In order to avoid duplicative and cumulative testimony and to 
ensure that all relevant issues and viewpoints are addressed, the 
Office encourages parties with similar interests to select common 
representatives to testify on behalf of a particular position. A timely 
request to testify does not guarantee an opportunity to testify at 
these hearings.
    The Copyright Office stresses that factual arguments are at least 
as important as legal arguments. The hearings provide an opportunity to 
explain and, in some cases, demonstrate the factual basis of an 
argument. The Copyright Office encourages persons who wish to testify 
to provide demonstrations of particular problems or solutions as 
supplements to testimony. While testimony from attorneys who can 
articulate legal arguments in support of or in opposition to a proposed 
exempted class of works is useful, testimony from witnesses who can 
explain and demonstrate pertinent facts is strongly encouraged by the 
Office.
    If audiovisual demonstrations or handouts will be used at any 
hearing, the Copyright Office requires submission of such materials to 
the Copyright Office 48 hours prior to the hearing in order to make 
this information available to the other witnesses on the same panel, 
and to ensure technological compatibility. If a demonstration will 
consist of proprietary hardware or software, witnesses may need to 
provide representative handouts to be distributed to other witnesses 
prior to the hearing.
    An LCD projector and screen will be available in the hearing rooms. 
Other electronic or audiovisual equipment necessary for a presentation 
should be brought by the person testifying. Persons intending to bring 
such equipment into the Library of Congress, e.g., laptops, slide 
projectors, etc., are encouraged to give the Office advance notice and 
to arrive early in order to clear security screening by the Library 
police.
    The Office intends to organize individual sessions of the hearings 
around particular or related classes of works proposed for exemption. 
If a request to testify involves more than one proposed exemption or 
related exemption, please specify, in order of preference, the proposed 
exemptions on which you would prefer to testify.
    Following receipt of the requests to testify, the Copyright Office 
will prepare an agenda of the hearings which will be posted on the 
Copyright Office website at: http://www.copyright.gov/1201/. The 
Copyright Office will also provide additional information on directions 
and parking for all persons testifying at the Palo Alto, CA round of 
hearings. To facilitate this process, it is essential that all of the 
required information listed above be included in a request to testify.

    Dated: March 4, 2009
David O. Carson,
Copyright General Counsel.
[FR Doc. E9-4913 Filed 3-6-09; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 1410-30-S