[Federal Register Volume 86, Number 24 (Monday, February 8, 2021)]
[Proposed Rules]
[Pages 8560-8561]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2021-02464]


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 Proposed Rules
                                                 Federal Register
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 This section of the FEDERAL REGISTER contains notices to the public of 
 the proposed issuance of rules and regulations. The purpose of these 
 notices is to give interested persons an opportunity to participate in 
 the rule making prior to the adoption of the final rules.
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  Federal Register / Vol. 86, No. 24 / Monday, February 8, 2021 / 
Proposed Rules  

[[Page 8560]]



LIBRARY OF CONGRESS

U.S. Copyright Office

37 CFR Part 201

[Docket No. 2020-11]


Exemptions To Permit Circumvention of Access Controls on 
Copyrighted Works

AGENCY: U.S. Copyright Office, Library of Congress.

ACTION: Notice of public hearings.

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SUMMARY: The United States Copyright Office will be holding public 
hearings as part of the eighth triennial rulemaking proceeding under 
the Digital Millennium Copyright Act (``DMCA'') concerning possible 
exemptions to the DMCA's prohibition against circumvention of 
technological measures that control access to copyrighted works. 
Parties interested in testifying at the hearings are invited to submit 
requests to testify pursuant to the instructions set forth below.

DATES: The public hearings are scheduled for April 5-8 and April 19-22, 
2021. Requests to testify must be received no later than 11:59 p.m. 
Eastern time on February 24, 2021. Once the hearing agendas are 
finalized, the Office will notify all participants and post the times 
and dates of the hearings at https://www.copyright.gov/1201/2021/.

ADDRESSES: The Office will conduct the hearings remotely using the Zoom 
videoconferencing platform. Requests to testify should be submitted 
through the request form available at https://www.copyright.gov/1201/2021/hearing-request.html.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Regan A. Smith, General Counsel and 
Associate Register of Copyrights, by email at [email protected]; 
Kevin R. Amer, Deputy General Counsel, by email at [email protected]; 
or Anna Chauvet, Associate General Counsel, by email at 
[email protected]. Each can be contacted by telephone by calling 
(202) 707-8350.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: On June 22, 2020, the Copyright Office 
(``Office'') published a notice of inquiry in the Federal Register to 
initiate the eighth triennial rulemaking proceeding under 17 U.S.C. 
1201(a)(1), which authorizes the Librarian of Congress, upon the 
recommendation of the Register of Copyrights, to exempt certain classes 
of copyrighted works from the prohibition against circumventing a 
technological measure that controls access to a copyrighted work.\1\ On 
October 15, 2020, the Office published a notice of proposed rulemaking 
setting forth proposed exemptions for seventeen classes of works and 
requesting written comments.\2\ The responsive comments received thus 
far have been posted on the Office's website at https://www.copyright.gov/1201/2021/.
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    \1\ 85 FR 37399 (June 22, 2020).
    \2\ 85 FR 65293 (Oct. 15, 2020).
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    At this time, the Office is announcing public hearings to be held 
via Zoom to further consider the proposed exemptions. The Office plans 
to convene panels of witnesses for the proposals to be considered, and 
may combine certain panels if the witnesses and/or key issues 
substantially overlap. All of the hearings will be live streamed 
online, and the video and transcript for each hearing will be posted on 
the Office's website. If no request to testify is received for a 
proposed exemption, the Office will consider the class based on the 
written submissions and any ex parte communications with interested 
parties (discussed below).

A. Submitting Requests To Testify

    A request to testify should be submitted to the Office using the 
form on the Office's website indicated in the ADDRESSES section above. 
Anyone wishing to testify with respect to more than one proposed class 
must submit a separate form for each request. To the extent feasible, 
the Office requests that organizations submit only one panelist request 
per proposed class, and generally encourages parties with similar 
interests to select a common representative to testify on their behalf. 
If multiple persons from the same organization wish to testify 
regarding different proposed exemptions, each should submit a separate 
request outlining the subject matter area. If multiple persons from the 
same organization wish to testify regarding the same proposed 
exemption, each should again submit a separate request, and explain in 
their submissions the need for multiple witnesses. For parties 
represented by law school clinics, the Office will attempt to 
accommodate requests to allow students to participate under the 
supervision of a faculty member. The Office will contact requesters 
should it determine that a hearing for a particular class is 
unnecessary.
    Depending upon the number and nature of the requests, and in light 
of the limited time available for the public hearings, the Office may 
not be able to accommodate all requests to testify. The Office will 
give preference to those who have provided substantive evidentiary 
submissions in support of or in opposition to a proposal.
    All requests to testify must clearly identify:
     The name of the person desiring to serve as a witness;
     The organization or organizations represented, if any;
     Contact information;
     The proposed class about which the person wishes to 
testify;
     A two- to three-sentence summary of the testimony the 
witness expects to present; and
     If the party is requesting the ability to demonstrate a 
use or a technology during the hearing, a description of the 
demonstration, the approximate time required, and any functionality 
required to make the demonstration viewable via Zoom. In light of the 
transition to virtual hearings for this proceeding, the Office cannot 
guarantee that witnesses will have the ability to introduce 
demonstrative evidence into the record during the hearings. The Office 
will consider options to accommodate such requests, including 
potentially by holding one or more dedicated panel sessions for that 
purpose.

To facilitate the process of scheduling panels, it is essential that 
all of this information be included in a request to testify.
    Following receipt of the requests to testify, the Office will 
prepare agendas listing the witnesses, dates, and times for each 
hearing. These will be circulated to witnesses and posted at https://www.copyright.gov/1201/2021/ on or about March 8, 2021.

[[Page 8561]]

B. Format of Public Hearings

    The Office will establish time limits for each panel after 
receiving all requests to testify. Generally, the Office plans to allot 
approximately one to two hours for each proposed class, although it may 
adjust the timing depending upon the complexity of the class. In 
addition, members of the public will be provided a limited opportunity 
to offer additional comments for the record, but parties who wish to 
provide detailed information to the Office are encouraged to submit a 
request to testify.
    Witnesses should expect the Office to have carefully studied all 
written comments, and the Office will expect witnesses to have done the 
same with respect to the classes for which they will be presenting. The 
hearings will focus on legal or factual issues that are unclear or 
underdeveloped in the written record, as identified by the Office, as 
well as demonstrative evidence.
    The Office stresses that factual information is critical to the 
rulemaking process, and witnesses should be prepared to discuss, among 
other things, where the copies of the works sought to be accessed are 
stored, how the works would be accessed, and what would be done with 
the works after being accessed. The Office also encourages witnesses to 
provide real-world examples to support their arguments. In some cases, 
the best way to do this may be to provide a description or 
demonstration of a claimed noninfringing use or the technologies 
pertinent to a proposal. As noted above, a person wishing to provide a 
demonstration should include a request to do so with the request to 
testify, using the appropriate space on the form. Persons should 
consider whether a demonstration is able to be presented in a format 
that enables it to be viewed by participants and observers via Zoom. To 
ensure proper documentation of the hearings, the Office will require 
that a copy of any audio, visual, or audiovisual materials (e.g., 
slideshows and videos) be provided to the Office following the hearing. 
The Office may contact witnesses individually ahead of time to ensure 
that demonstrations can be preserved for the record in an appropriate 
form.

C. Ex Parte Communication

    During the seventh triennial rulemaking, the Office issued 
guidelines according to which interested parties could request informal 
meetings with the Office. The Office intends to issue similar 
guidelines in this proceeding. Consistent with its prior practice, the 
Office will establish requirements to ensure transparency, including 
that participating parties submit a list of attendees and a written 
summary of any oral communications, which will be posted on the 
Office's website. The ex parte guidelines will be made available at 
https://www.copyright.gov/1201/2021/ following the completion of the 
public hearings. No ex parte meetings in this proceeding will be 
scheduled before that time.
    As in prior proceedings, such informal communications may 
supplement, but not substitute for, the written record and testimony at 
the public hearings. The primary means to communicate views in the 
course of the rulemaking will continue to be through the submission of 
written comments and testimony at the public hearings.

    Dated: February 2, 2021.
Regan A. Smith,
General Counsel and Associate Register of Copyrights.
[FR Doc. 2021-02464 Filed 2-5-21; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 1410-30-P