Ninth Triennial Section 1201 Proceeding, 2024 Cycle

The Copyright Office has initiated the ninth triennial rulemaking proceeding under the Digital Millennium Copyright Act (DMCA), section 1201 of Title 17 of the United States Code U.S.C. § 1201, which provides that the Librarian of Congress, upon the recommendation of the Register of Copyrights, may adopt temporary exemptions to section 1201’s prohibition against circumvention of technological measures that control access to copyrighted works. The ultimate goal of the proceeding is to determine whether there are particular classes of works as to which users are, or are likely to be in the next three years, adversely affected in their ability to make noninfringing uses due to the prohibition on circumventing access controls. When such classes are identified, the Librarian promulgates regulations exempting the classes from the prohibition for the succeeding three-year period.


The Office is again using a streamlined procedure for the renewal of exemptions that were granted during the eighth triennial rulemaking. If renewed, those current exemptions would remain in force for an additional three-year period (October 2024–October 2027).


Written petitions for renewal of current exemptions were due July 7, 2023, and written responses were due on August 11, 2023. Petitions proposing new exemptions were due August 25, 2023.