[Federal Register: March 17, 2000 (Volume 65, Number 53)]
[Proposed Rules]
[Page 14505-14506]
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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.copyright.gov/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://www.copyright.gov/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:
<bullet> The name of the person desiring to testify;
<bullet> The organization or organizations represented by that
person, if any;
<bullet> Contact information (address, telephone, and e-mail);
<bullet> The location and date of the hearing at which the
requestor wishes to testify; and
<bullet> 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]