CopyrightX: Libraries - 2026 syllabus

  • Ana Enriquez (Penn State University Libraries)
  • Katie Zimmerman (MIT Libraries)
  • Matthew Kopel (Princeton University)

During the course, we may change the syllabus if there is an important development in the areas we have not taught yet, such as a new decision from the U.S. Supreme Court. We will not do this lightly, and we will give you as much warning as possible.

Update: The Supreme Court has issued an opinion in Cox v. Sony. This opinion is now one of the readings for Week 11. We have removed another reading about the same case.

11 Week 11: Secondary Liability; DMCA 11 Week 11: Secondary Liability; DMCA

11.1 WATCH 11.1 WATCH

11.1.1 William Fisher, CopyrightX, Lecture 11.1, Supplements to Copyright: Secondary Liability 11.1.1 William Fisher, CopyrightX, Lecture 11.1, Supplements to Copyright: Secondary Liability

11.1.2 William Fisher, CopyrightX, Lecture 11.2, Supplements to Copyright: Dual-Use Technologies 11.1.2 William Fisher, CopyrightX, Lecture 11.2, Supplements to Copyright: Dual-Use Technologies

11.1.3 William Fisher, CopyrightX, Lecture 11.3, Supplements to Copyright: Tech Protection Measures 11.1.3 William Fisher, CopyrightX, Lecture 11.3, Supplements to Copyright: Tech Protection Measures

11.2 READ 11.2 READ

11.2.1. Cox Communications, Inc., et al., v. Sony Music Entertainment et al., No. 24–171 (March 25, 2026)

Cox Communications, Inc., et al., v. Sony Music Entertainment et al., No. 24–171 (March 25, 2026)

11.2.2. Should Libraries Fret Over Mischievous Users?, Brandon Butler

Should Libraries Fret Over Mischievous Users?, Brandon Butler

11.2.3 UIPO Brief Explainer: DMCA 1201 Exemptions, October 2024 11.2.3 UIPO Brief Explainer: DMCA 1201 Exemptions, October 2024

Created by the UIPO Advocacy and Public Policy Committee

Summary

In October 2024, the Librarian of Congress published updated exemptions to the Digital Millennium Copyright Act (DMCA)’s prohibition on circumventing digital rights management (DRM) to access copyrighted works. Some of the exemptions are leveraged by academic libraries and the audiences we serve. Below we provide an overall picture of the exemptions granted following the most recent review, and provide more detail on the expansion of the exemption to conduct text and data mining (TDM) on audiovisual and literary works.


Background


Why does this exemption process matter? Imagine you are a researcher looking to conduct TDM on e-books or DVDs. These sources may have an added layer of DRM which controls access to the content. Ordinarily, circumventing DRM to access copyright-protected content is prohibited by the DMCA § 1201(a)(1). The effect of this prohibition for TDM research means that even if it were technically a fair use to mine the underlying content presented within an e-book or film on DVD, the DMCA does not provide for breaking the DRM to get to that content to actually do the mining.


However, every three years the Register of Copyrights solicits petitions from stakeholders regarding classes of works that should be granted an exemption from the default no-circumvention rule. The Register of Copyrights makes recommendations to the Librarian of Congress regarding groups of works that would receive a limited exemption. During the review, the Librarian “considers whether the prohibition on circumvention is having, or is likely to have, adverse effects on users’ ability to make noninfringing uses of a particular class of copyrighted works.”

2024 Classes at-a-glance

Classes Recommended for Renewal Summary
Audiovisual Works—Educational Uses Multiple exemptions renewed, including criticism/comment for filmmaking, e-books, K–12 education, MOOCs, and digital literacy programs.
Audiovisual Works—Accessibility Captioning and audio description for educational institutions renewed.
Audiovisual Works—Preservation Renewed for preservation/replacement by libraries, archives, and museums.
Audiovisual Works—Text and Data Mining Renewed for nonprofit educational research purposes.
Literary Works—Text and Data Mining Renewed for nonprofit educational research purposes.
Literary Works—Text and Data Mining—Assistive Technologies Renewed for text, notation, or musical works interfering with assistive technologies.
Literary Works—Medical Device Data Renewed for access to medical device data.
Computer Programs—Unlocking Renewed for wireless device unlocking.
Computer Programs—Jailbreaking Renewed for smartphones, smart TVs, voice assistants, and networking devices.
Computer Programs—Repair by Consumers Renewed for programs that control devices designed for use by consumers for diagnosis, maintenance, repair.
Computer Programs—Repair of Medical Devices Renewed for programs that control the functioning of medical devices or systems, and related data files
Computer Programs—Security Renewed for good-faith security research.
Video Games—Preservation Renewed for games with discontinued server support.
Computer Programs—Preservation Renewed for libraries, archives, and museums.
Computer Programs—3D Printers Renewed for alternative material usage.
Computer Programs—Copyright License Investigation Renewed for investigating open-source program infringements.

 

Classes Not Renewed Summary
Computer Programs—Video game Accessibility Not renewed due to lack of petition.
   
New or Expanded Classes  Summary
Audiovisual Works and Literary Works–Text and Data Mining Expanded to permit access to research corpora but with additional measures.
Computer Programs—Repair of Commercial Industrial Equipment Expanded for repair exemptions to cover industrial equipment.
Computer Programs—Vehicle Operational Data New exemption for lawful access to vehicle-generated data.
   
Classes considered but not recommended Summary
Audiovisual Works—Noncommercial Videos No substantive changes in proposed expansion.
Audiovisual Works—Online Learning Expansion to for-profit/unaccredited institutions not supported.
Computer Programs—Generative AI Research Denied due to emerging law/policy considerations.
Computer Programs and Video Games Preservation Removing single-user/premises limitations for programs and games not shown to be noninfringing.

 

Closer look: Expansion of audiovisual & literary exemption for text data mining

Authors Alliance, the American Association of University Professors, and the Library Copyright Alliance petitioned to expand the existing TDM exemptions. The Librarian of Congress granted a limited expansion. See the chart below for details about the expansion and the additional conditions that accompany it.

2021 TDM Exemption 2024 TDM Exemption
The circumvention needs to be conducted by a researcher at a nonprofit institution of higher education. The circumvention needs to be conducted by a researcher at a nonprofit institution of higher education.
The copy of each motion picture or e-book must be lawfully acquired and owned/licensed by the institution in perpetuity. The copy of each motion picture or e-book must be lawfully acquired and owned/licensed by the institution in perpetuity.
The individual circumventing the DRM may only view the contents for the purposes of verifying the TDM research results. The individual circumventing the DRM may view or listen to the contents of the works solely to conduct text and data mining research or teaching. The home institution conducting the circumvention may permit researchers at other qualified institutions access to the corpus only to engage in TDM research or teaching, and only through credentialed and secure access mechanisms provided by the home institution. (Note: This does not mean that the home institution may make and share a copy of the corpus.)
The institution must apply effective security measures to prevent downloading or
dissemination of the copyrighted materials.		 The institution must apply effective security measures to prevent downloading or
dissemination of the copyrighted materials.
Researchers should also be prepared to respond to reasonable requests from certain copyright owners or their trade association representatives about the nature of these security measures (provided the copyright owners reasonably believe their works are included in the corpus being studied).

 

Additional reading + resources