By Robert Kerwin

Last week, the U.S. Copyright Office announced that it is once again accepting petitions for temporary exemptions, as well as petitions to renew existing temporary exemptions, under section 1201 of the Digital Millennium Copyright Act, 17 U.S.C. § 1201, through its triennial rulemaking proceeding.

Petitions for new exemptions and petitions for renewal must be submitted to the Copyright Office no later than August 24, 2026.
At this point, some readers may be wondering what the DMCA is and why these exemptions matter. Enacted in 1998, the DMCA is a federal law that, among other things, prohibits the circumvention of technological measures—such as passwords, encryption, and other access controls—used by copyright holders to protect their works. That prohibition applies even when the underlying use would otherwise be noninfringing, unless an exemption has been granted.

In the triennial rulemaking, the Librarian of Congress, acting on the recommendation of the Register of Copyrights, may adopt temporary exemptions for classes of works where users are likely to be adversely affected in their ability to make lawful, noninfringing uses. Although the statute was originally intended to combat digital piracy and protect creators, critics have increasingly argued that it has also been used by manufacturers to preserve digital monopolies and restrict the right to repair.

In 2021, after reviewing an extensive record, the Librarian of Congress adopted the Copyright Office’s recommendation to permit circumvention of technological protections that blocked access on medical devices to “error logs, configuration files, and other unprotected works.” In granting that medical-device repair exemption, the Librarian effectively concluded that section 1201’s anti-circumvention prohibition was likely causing an adverse impact on the lawful, noninfringing diagnosis, maintenance, and repair of medical devices and systems. The exemption was renewed on similar grounds in 2024 and, absent further action, is scheduled to expire in October 2027.

For that reason, it is important that stakeholders—including independent service organizations—file renewal petitions with the Copyright Office, because these exemptions are not renewed automatically and the original granting of the exemption is on appeal. Additional information about the filing process is available on the Copyright Office’s website. Parties seeking a new exemption may use the form available here. Parties seeking renewal of an existing exemption may use the form available here.

The Federal Register notice also states that further information may be obtained from Rhea Efthimiadis, Assistant to the General Counsel, by email at USCOGeneralCounsel@copyright.gov or by telephone at (202) 707-8350.

About the author: Robert J. Kerwin is general counsel to the International Association of Medical Equipment Remarketers and Servicers (IAMERS). In the 2021 Section 1201 rulemaking record, IAMERS participated in the proceedings concerning the medical-device repair exemption, including the public hearing on Class 12.

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