Ex Parte Communications
Guidelines
In its February 5, 2019 notice of proposed rulemaking, the Copyright Office indicated that it would consider requests from interested participants for informal communications with the Office to discuss targeted issues related to the merits of the rulemaking. To ensure that such communications are governed by transparent and consistent procedures, the Office issued the following guidelines:
- Any interested participant seeking an ex parte in-person or telephone meeting with the Office in this proceeding should submit a written request to John R. Riley, Assistant General Counsel, at [email protected] and Jason Sloan, Assistant General Counsel, at [email protected]. The request should identify (1) the names of all proposed attendees, and (2) 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 generally not consider or accept new documentary materials outside the rulemaking record.
- Within two business days after the meeting, the attendees must email the Office (using the above email address) a letter detailing the information identified in paragraph 1 and summarizing the discussion at the meeting. The letter must summarize the substance of the views expressed and arguments made in such a way that a non-participating party will understand the scope of issues discussed; merely listing the subjects discussed or providing a 1-2 sentence description will not be sufficient. These letters will be made publicly available on the Copyright Office’s website.