Ex Parte Communications

Guidelines

The Copyright Office will permit participants in this proceeding to request informal meetings with the Office to discuss specific issues raised in the written comments and/or public hearings.

Meetings with the Office regarding the proceeding must comply with the Office’s ex parte regulation at 37 C.F.R. § 205.24. These rules require, among other things:

Any participant seeking an ex parte meeting with the Office in this proceeding should submit a written request to Brandy Karl at [email protected] and Rhea Efthimiadis at [email protected]. The ex parte meeting request should identify (a) the class(es) to which the requested meeting pertains, (b) the names of all proposed attendees, and (c) the party or parties on whose behalf each attendee is appearing.
Ex parte meetings with the Office are intended to provide an opportunity for participants to clarify evidence and/or arguments made in prior written submissions or public hearing statements, and to respond to questions from the Office on those matters. The Office will not consider or accept new documentary materials outside the rulemaking record.
Within five business days after the meeting, the attendees must email the Office (using the above email addresses) a letter detailing the information identified in paragraph 1 and summarizing the discussion at the meeting. The meeting summary letter must include enough detail that a nonparticipating party would understand the substance of the meeting and the issues raised. The Office will not accept or consider meeting summary letters that merely list the subject(s) discussed or provide a one- or two-sentence description. These letters will be made publicly available on the Copyright Office’s website.
To ensure compliance with the statutory deadline, all ex parte meetings in this proceeding must take place no later than Friday, August 16, 2024. The Office will not consider requests to hold meetings after that date.

Complete information about the Office’s ex parte process is available here.