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CO Planning Study on DMCA Section 512's Safe Harbor Provisions, Notice-and-Takedown Process

The Copyright Office said it plans a study assessing the impact and effectiveness of Digital Millennium Copyright Act (DMCA) Section 512, including general operation of Section 512's safe harbor provisions. The CO said Wednesday it's doing the study in response…

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to a recommendation from Register of Copyrights Maria Pallante and a request from House Judiciary Committee ranking member John Conyers, D-Mich. Both Conyers and Pallante said Section 512's operation “poses policy issues that warrant study and analysis,” the CO said in a notice to be published in Thursday's Federal Register. The Department of Commerce also “noted ambiguities in the application of the safe harbor and encouraged service providers and rightsholders to discuss and pursue voluntary improvements,” the CO said. The study also will examine the effectiveness of the current notice-and-takedown process, the counter-notification process and the legal standards that apply under Section 512. The CO said it's seeking public comment on the Section 512 study, with comments due March 21. The CO said it also plans at least one public meeting related to its 512 study. The CO also announced Monday that it's planning a study of DMCA Section 1201, including the CO's current triennial process for granting exemptions to Section 1201's ban on circumvention of technological protection measures (see 1512280030).