Copyright Office Invites Requests to Testify in Section 1201 Rulemaking Hearings

Issue No. 877 - February 8, 2021

The U.S. Copyright Office has issued a Federal Register notice announcing that it will hold public hearings in the triennial rulemaking proceeding under section 1201 of Title 17. Section 1201 provides legal protections against the circumvention of technological measures used by copyright owners to prevent unauthorized access to or use of their works. Through the triennial rulemaking, the Librarian of Congress may, upon the recommendation of the Register of Copyrights, temporarily exempt certain classes of works from the statutory prohibition against circumvention.

The Office will hold hearings on April 5–8 and April 19–22, 2021, via Zoom. Members of the public who wish to testify must submit a request form available on the Office’s website. Requests must be received no later than 11:59 p.m. eastern time on Wednesday, February 24, 2021. Shortly thereafter, the Office will notify all participants and post the dates and times of the hearings on its website. All of the hearings will be live streamed online.

Additional background information about section 1201 is available at copyright.gov/1201/, which contains helpful resources, such as video tutorials, the Office’s recent policy study on section 1201, and links to prior rulemaking proceedings.