What the Office published

The notice is Federal Register Document 2026-21939, published October 28, 2026, at 91 FR 67788 to 67808, under Copyright Office Docket No. 2026-4 and 37 CFR Part 201. Its action line reads "Notice of proposed rulemaking." It is dated October 23, 2026, and signed by Emily L. Chapuis, General Counsel and Associate Register of Copyrights. (91 FR 67788, 67808.)

The Office began the tenth triennial rulemaking with a Notification of Inquiry on June 9, 2026 (91 FR 34795). The notice says the Office received 43 renewal petitions, three comments supporting renewal of an exemption, eight comments opposing renewal of an exemption, and 25 petitions for new or expanded exemptions. Under 17 U.S.C. 1201(a)(1)(C), an exemption requires a record showing that users of a particular class of copyrighted works "are, or are likely to be in the succeeding 3-year period, adversely affected by the prohibition" in their ability to make noninfringing uses. (91 FR 67788 to 67789.)

Renewals

The Office says it received petitions to renew every existing exemption and a sufficient petition for each. Using the streamlined renewal process, the Register intends to recommend readoption of each existing exemption in its current form except the exemption for computer programs in medical devices and systems, and related data files, for diagnosis, maintenance, or repair, codified at 37 CFR 201.40(b)(17). (91 FR 67789 to 67790, 67797.)

According to the notice, eight petitions sought renewal of the medical device repair exemption, one comment supported renewal, and four comments opposed it. AdvaMed and Philips North America, LLC cited the D.C. Circuit's September 1, 2026 decision in Medical Imaging & Technology Alliance v. Library of Congress, No. 25-5328, which, the notice says, affirmed dismissal of their challenge to the exemption. AdvaMed also submitted declarations that, it says, show that servicing and diagnostic software and maintenance documentation are works distinct from clinical operation software, are protected by different technological measures, and are licensed separately from the devices. The Office found meaningful opposition and will consider medical device repair as a new proposed exemption, with three rounds of comment, rather than through streamlined renewal. (91 FR 67790, 67797 to 67798.)

The ten proposed classes

The Office consolidated the 25 petitions, together with the opposed renewal, into ten proposed classes. It describes them as a starting point that may be refined based on the record. (91 FR 67800.)

  • Class 1, audiovisual works, accessibility and captioning: an exemption for libraries and other public entities to add captions and audio description to audiovisual works on web and mobile app interfaces, tied to the accessibility rules at 28 CFR 35.200. (91 FR 67800.)
  • Class 2, audiovisual works, criticism and comment: an expansion of the current exemption to Ultra HD Blu-ray discs protected by AACS2 and to uses not limited to noncommercial ones. (91 FR 67800 to 67801.)
  • Class 3, audiovisual works, playback on unsupported devices: private, noncommercial playback of DVD, Blu-ray, and Ultra HD Blu-ray discs on a personal computer for which no licensed player is available. The Office notes that the Register recommended against similar proposals in 2000, 2003, 2006, 2010, and 2015. (91 FR 67801.)
  • Class 4, audiovisual works, replacement: replacement copies of motion pictures on optical discs or streaming services, in three subclasses for preservation, hardware obsolescence, and digital service discontinuation. (91 FR 67801 to 67802.)
  • Class 5, audiovisual works, personal playback: applying automatic mute or skip instructions during private home playback of discs, with reference to 17 U.S.C. 110(11). (91 FR 67802 to 67803.)
  • Class 6, audiovisual works, public domain works: copying public domain motion pictures from DVD, Blu-ray, and Ultra HD Blu-ray discs for preservation. (91 FR 67803.)
  • Class 7, computer programs, jailbreaking: removing automatic content recognition software from smart TVs, disabling advertising pushed to consumer devices after sale, and routing video data from home-monitoring devices to a local server. (91 FR 67803.)
  • Class 8, computer programs, repair: two subclasses, one for device and equipment repair and one for medical device repair, which includes the opposed renewal. (91 FR 67803 to 67804.)
  • Class 9, video games, operating system incompatibility: circumventing DRM on older games that no longer works on modern operating systems. The Office notes that it rejected a substantively identical proposal in the last cycle. (91 FR 67805.)
  • Class 10, video games, network play: expanding the continued-play exemption to online play through independently implemented replacement network infrastructure when server functionality has been discontinued. (91 FR 67805 to 67806.)

Deadlines and next steps

Initial comments from proponents, supporters, and those who neither support nor oppose a proposal are due December 7, 2026. Opposition comments are due February 22, 2027. Reply comments from first-round commenters are due March 22, 2027, and may not raise new issues or evidence. Comments go through regulations.gov, and longer submissions use the Office's long comment form at copyright.gov/1201/2027. Each class needs its own submission, and the notice sets a limit of 25 pages per commenter per class per round, excluding documentary evidence. (91 FR 67788, 67807.)

The notice says the Office will hold online public hearings in spring 2027 under a separate notice, may send written post-hearing questions, and will permit ex parte communications with participants only in a period after the hearings conclude. The Register will then make a written recommendation to the Librarian of Congress, after consulting the National Telecommunications and Information Administration, and the Librarian will adopt a final rule announcing any exemptions. (91 FR 67808.)