[Federal Register Volume 86, Number 214 (Tuesday, November 9, 2021)]
[Notices]
[Pages 62215-62216]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2021-24506]


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LIBRARY OF CONGRESS

Copyright Office

[Docket No. 2021-5]


Publishers' Protections Study: Request for Additional Comments

AGENCY: Copyright Office, Library of Congress.

ACTION: Notice of inquiry.

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SUMMARY: The U.S. Copyright Office seeks further comments on the

[[Page 62216]]

effectiveness of copyright protections for publishers, with a focus on 
press publishers. This request provides an opportunity for interested 
parties to raise new issues related to the topic of the study, amplify 
initial comments, present empirical studies, or to address, reply to, 
or expand upon any issues raised in the initial request for written 
comments--responses to which are due on or before November 26, 2021--or 
during the virtual public roundtable, which will be held on December 9, 
2021. On November 29, 2021, the Office will post a link at https://copyright.gov/policy/publishersprotections/ through which parties can 
submit second-round comments.

DATES: Additional comments are due on or before January 5, 2022.

ADDRESSES: The Copyright Office is using the regulations.gov system for 
the submission and posting of public comments in this proceeding. All 
comments are therefore to be submitted electronically through 
regulations.gov. Specific instructions are available on the Copyright 
Office website at http://www.copyright.gov/policy/publishersprotections/. If electronic submission of comments is not 
feasible due to lack of access to a computer and/or the internet, 
please contact the Office using the contact information below, for 
special instructions.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Kimberley Isbell, Deputy Director of 
Policy and International Affairs, at [email protected], or Andrew 
Foglia, Senior Counsel for Policy and International Affairs, at 
[email protected]. Both can be reached by telephone at 202-707-
8350.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The United States Copyright Office is 
undertaking a public study at the request of Congress to evaluate 
current copyright protections for publishers. Among other issues, the 
Office is considering the effectiveness of publishers' existing rights 
in news content, including under the provisions of title 17 of the U.S. 
Code, as well as other federal and state laws; whether additional 
protections are desirable or appropriate; the possible scope of any 
such new protections, including how their beneficiaries could be 
defined; and how any such protections would interact with existing 
rights, exceptions and limitations, and international treaty 
obligations. On October 12, 2021, the Office published an initial 
request for comments on several questions related to these issues. It 
also announced that it would hold a virtual public roundtable on the 
same topics on December 9, 2021.
    In the interests of gathering the fullest possible record on the 
question of copyright protections for publishers, with a focus on press 
publishers, the Office is now announcing an additional round of 
comments, responses to which are due on or before January 5, 2022. On 
November 29, 2021, the Office will post a link at https://copyright.gov/policy/publishersprotections/ through which parties can 
submit second-round comments. Comments submitted in this second round 
may address the same questions set forth in the October 12 notice, or 
any other issues related to the topic of the study. In submitting 
second-round comments, parties may raise new issues, amplify their 
initial comments, present empirical studies, or address, reply to, or 
expand upon any issues raised in the initial request for written 
comments or at the December 9, 2021 virtual public roundtable. As with 
the initial comments, the Office requests that parties submitting 
second-round comments identify their affiliation and the factual or 
legal basis for their responses.
    Please note that the issuance of this notice does not mean that the 
deadline for submission of initial comments has expired. Initial 
comments may still be submitted through November 26, 2021. 
Additionally, a party does not have to have submitted initial comments 
or participated in the roundtable in order to submit second-round 
comments.

    Dated: November 4, 2021.
Shira Perlmutter,
Register of Copyrights and Director of the U.S. Copyright Office.
[FR Doc. 2021-24506 Filed 11-8-21; 8:45 am]
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