Exemptions To Permit Circumvention of Access Controls on Copyrighted Works
Key claim: The U.S. Copyright Office is initiating its tenth triennial DMCA rulemaking to accept petitions for renewal of existing exemptions and new exemptions to the prohibition on circumventing technological access controls on copyrighted works.
Abstract
(Proposed Rule · Library of Congress, Copyright Office, Library of Congress) The United States Copyright Office is initiating the tenth triennial rulemaking proceeding under the Digital Millennium Copyright Act (“DMCA”) to determine whether to recommend temporary exemptions to the DMCA’s prohibition against circumvention of technological measures that control access to copyrighted works. The Office is accepting petitions for renewal of current exemptions and petitions for new exemptions, and will subsequently accept comments in response to renewal petitions.
Why this matters
The Section 1201 triennial rulemaking is the primary federal mechanism for carving out lawful circumvention of DRM and other access controls, and its outcomes shape what security researchers, repair technicians, accessibility tools, archivists, and increasingly AI/ML researchers doing text and data mining can legally do. Because exemptions sunset every three years, developers and platforms face recurring uncertainty about which activities remain permissible, and each cycle is a key opportunity for stakeholders to shape the boundary between copyright enforcement and noninfringing use.