What the Office published
The notice is Federal Register Document 2026-20537, published October 7, 2026, at 91 FR 64188 to 64192, under Copyright Office Docket No. 2026-6. Its action line reads "Notice of inquiry." It is dated October 5, 2026, and signed by Emily L. Chapuis, General Counsel and Associate Register of Copyrights. (91 FR 64188, 64192.)
According to the notice, the Office received a letter dated May 21, 2026, from Representative Scott Fitzgerald asking it to "examine the prevalence of streaming fraud across digital platforms and how it may be affecting the music industry as a whole." The Office says the comments, together with its own research, may contribute to Congress's understanding of streaming fraud, current efforts to curb it, and potential solutions. (91 FR 64188.)
What the Office asks
The notice lists ten subjects of inquiry. They include how streaming fraud is carried out and what data is available about the prevalence of specific schemes such as bot farms, click farms, playlist manipulation, and fraudulent marketing companies; industry policies or practices that may be inadvertently contributing to it; data on its current and projected economic impact; its relationship to the effects of AI-generated music and to royalty licensing and distribution for the performance and reproduction of musical works and sound recordings; and its relationship to live music performances. Other questions ask what methods stakeholders have used to combat streaming fraud and how effective those methods have been, including policies on trusted distributors, content verification, customer verification, royalty clawback, fines, and content removal; the use of ownership or usage data, including a shared database of known streaming fraud and labeling of content ineligible for statutory royalties; potential voluntary, statutory, or regulatory solutions, including whether legislation providing for a remedy such as no-fault injunctive relief could be used to address streaming fraud; criminal enforcement, including uses of streaming fraud by organized crime; and any other recommendations for Congress. (91 FR 64191 to 64192.)
Comments go through regulations.gov, and the notice says specific instructions are on the Office's website at copyright.gov/policy/music-streaming-fraud. Written comments are due by 11:59 p.m. Eastern Time on November 23, 2026, and reply comments by 11:59 p.m. Eastern Time on December 21, 2026. (91 FR 64188.)