2026-21939·LIBRARY OF CONGRESS

Exemptions To Permit Circumvention of Access Controls on Copyrighted Works

Proposed RuleComment Period OpenComments open

Published: Oct 28, 2026
Comments close: Dec 7, 2026
Citation: 91 FR 67788
Docket: Docket No. 2026-4
Agencies: LIBRARY OF CONGRESS, Copyright Office

Notice of proposed rulemaking.

Summary

The United States Copyright Office is beginning its tenth three‑year review of the Digital Millennium Copyright Act’s (DMCA) “anti‑circumvention” rules. The agency is proposing to keep almost all of the current temporary exemptions that let people legally bypass access‑control technologies for specific activities—such as unlocking a locked e‑book for accessibility or extracting excerpts for teaching—while dropping one exemption that it believes no longer serves a public interest. In addition, the Office is opening a public comment period on three new categories of exemptions it hopes to add, giving stakeholders a chance to weigh in on whether these new allowances should be granted. The rulemaking is issued by the Library of Congress, which houses the Copyright Office, and it affects anyone who uses or creates copyrighted material protected by technical access controls—students, educators, researchers, libraries, disability‑access advocates, and technology developers, as well as copyright owners who must comply with the DMCA. The notice was published on October 28, 2026 in the Federal Register (91 FR 67788). Written comments must be submitted by December 7, 2026, and each comment set may not exceed 25 pages (excluding supporting documents). After the comment deadline, the Copyright Office will review the feedback and issue a final rule, likely in early 2027. That final rule will formally renew the selected existing exemptions, reject the one exemption slated for removal, and decide whether to adopt any of the three proposed new exemptions. Until the final rule is published, the current exemptions remain in effect.

AI-generated summary — verify against the Federal Register text.

Official abstract

The United States Copyright Office is conducting the tenth triennial rulemaking proceeding under the Digital Millennium Copyright Act ("DMCA"), concerning temporary exemptions to the DMCA's prohibition against circumvention of technological measures that control access to copyrighted works. Having carefully considered the petitions for new and renewal exemptions and comments received in response to the June 9, 2026 Notification of Inquiry, the Office announces the Register's intention to recommend all but one of the existing exemptions for renewal, and initiates three rounds of public comment on newly proposed exemptions. Comments submitted may not exceed twenty-five pages per class, excluding documentary evidence.