[Federal Register Volume 77, Number 51 (Thursday, March 15, 2012)]
[Proposed Rules]
[Pages 15327-15329]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2012-6333]


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LIBRARY OF CONGRESS

Copyright Office

37 CFR Part 201

[Docket No. RM 2011-7]


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 (``Office'') 
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

[[Page 15328]]

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. The first day of hearings 
will be dedicated to demonstrations of technology relevant to the 
rulemaking proceeding.

DATES: The first public hearing, confined to demonstrations of 
technology, will be held in Washington, DC on Friday, May 11, 2012 at 
10 a.m. Public hearings will also be conducted in Los Angeles, 
California at 9 a.m. on Thursday, May 17, 2012 and Friday, May 18, 
2012, and in Washington, DC at 9 a.m. on Thursday, May 31, 2012, 
Friday, June 1, 2012, and Monday, June 4 through Wednesday, June 6, 
2012. Requests to testify must be received by 5 p.m. E.D.T. on Monday, 
April 2, 2012. See the SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION below for more 
information on the hearing dates and for additional information on 
other requirements.

ADDRESSES: The Los Angeles hearings will be held in the Moot Courtroom 
(Room 1310) of the University of California, Los Angeles, School of 
Law, 405 Hilgard Avenue, Los Angeles, 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: Ben Golant, Assistant General Counsel, 
Office of the General Counsel, Copyright GC/I&R, P.O. 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/hearing-request.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: On September 29, 2011, the Copyright Office 
published a Notice of Inquiry seeking comments in connection with its 
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. 76 FR 60398 (Sept. 29, 2011). On December 20, 2011, 
the Office published a Notice of Proposed Rulemaking listing the 
proposed exemptions and requesting responsive comments. 76 FR 78866 
(Dec. 20, 2011). The classes of works proposed for exemption and the 
responsive comments and reply comments have been posted on the Office's 
Web site, along with the other notices published in the current 
rulemaking proceeding and a more complete statement of the background 
and purpose of the rulemaking. See http://www.copyright.gov/1201/.
    The Office will be conducting public hearings in Los Angeles, 
California and Washington, DC to hear testimony relating to the 
proposed exemptions in this rulemaking. Interested parties are invited 
to submit requests to testify at these hearings. The dates for the 
hearings in Los Angeles, CA are May 17, 2012 and May 18, 2012. The 
dates for the Washington, DC hearings are May 31, June 1, 2012, and 
June 4 through June 6, 2012. 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. Updated information on 
the times and dates of the hearings may be found at http://www.copyright.gov/1201/. 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.
    These hearings will be organized into separate sessions on each of 
the proposed classes of works. Witnesses testifying in support of and 
in opposition to each class will testify as part of the same panel. 
Testimony shall consist of presentations of facts and legal argument, 
followed by questions from Copyright Office staff.
    In addition to the hearings described above, the Office will be 
conducting a special ``Technology Hearing'' to give proponents and 
opponents of proposed classes of works an opportunity to conduct 
demonstrations of various technologies pertinent to the merits of the 
proposals. This hearing will be primarily factual in nature. Witnesses 
wishing to present demonstrations are asked to do so at this hearing 
rather than at the other hearings, in order to permit the other 
hearings to proceed on schedule. Witnesses will be responsible for 
providing any hardware or software necessary to conduct a 
demonstration. This hearing shall take place on Friday, May 11, 2012 in 
Washington, DC. The Office believes that conducting this hearing one 
week before the commencement of the other hearings will give Copyright 
Office staff and other witnesses an opportunity to take the technology 
demonstrations into account at the later hearings. The Office is 
exploring the possibility of audiovisual streaming of the Technology 
Hearing, at least to persons who will be witnesses at the later hearing 
and will be unable to attend the Technology Hearing. However, at this 
time the Office does not know whether that will be possible. Persons 
wishing to testify at the later hearings who wish to have access to 
such streaming if it is available should indicate their interest in 
their requests to testify.
    All hearings will be open to the public, but seating will be 
limited. Witnesses and persons accompanying witnesses will be given 
priority in seating.
    Requirements for persons desiring to testify: A request to testify 
must be submitted to the Copyright Office. All requests to testify must 
clearly identify:

 For all hearings:
     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).

 For the May 11 Technology Hearing:

     A description of the technology you intend to demonstrate,
     Identification of the proposed class(es) of works to which 
the technology is relevant,
     Identification of any technical requirements (including 
hardware and software) for the demonstration,
     An estimate of the length of time of the demonstration.

 For the May 17-18 and May 31-June 6 hearings:

     A brief summary of your proposed testimony,
     A description of any audiovisual material or demonstrative 
evidence, if any, that you intend to present,\1\
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    \1\ As noted above, demonstrations of technology should be 
presented at the May 11 hearing. Any witness wishing to present 
audiovisual material or demonstrative evidence at the later hearings 
must request permission to do so in their requests to testify and 
explain why it is more appropriate to present that material at the 
later hearings than to do so at the May 11 hearing. The Office will 
carefully scrutinize such requests.
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     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 Los Angeles, CA),
     Dates on which you wish to testify in order of preference,
     Whether you wish to be given remote access to the May 11 
Technology Hearing (if available).


[[Page 15329]]


    Note:  Because the agenda will be organized based on subject 
matter, the Office cannot guarantee that it can accommodate requests 
to testify on particular dates (apart from the Technology Hearing). 
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 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 Office's Web site form located at http://www.copyright.gov/1201/ and must be received by 5 p.m. E.D.T. on 
Monday, April 2, 2012. Persons who are unable to send requests via the 
Web site should contact Ben Golant, Assistant General Counsel, 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 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 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 Office requires submission of such materials to the 
Copyright Office 7 days prior to the hearing in order to make this 
information available to the other witnesses on the same panel. For the 
Technology Hearing, 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. 
Witnesses should assume that they will have to provide whatever 
electronic or audiovisual equipment is necessary for their 
presentations, although in particular cases the Office may be able to 
provide basic equipment (e.g., a personal computer and a large monitor) 
or software. 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 Office will prepare an agenda of the 
hearings which will be posted at: http://www.copyright.gov/1201/. The 
Office will also provide additional information on directions and 
parking for all persons testifying at the Los Angeles, 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 12, 2012.
Maria A. Pallante,
Register of Copyrights.
[FR Doc. 2012-6333 Filed 3-14-12; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 1410-30-P