| Period of Applicability | Exemption | Description | Original proposal supported by |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2012 October 28 - | Literary Works Distributed Electronically—Assistive Technologies | Literary works, distributed electronically, that are protected by technological measures which either prevent the enabling of read-aloud functionality or interfere with screen readers or other applications or assistive technologies, (i) when a copy of such a work is lawfully obtained by a blind or other person with a disability, as such a person is defined in 17 U.S.C. 121; provided, however, the rights owner is remunerated, as appropriate, for the price of the mainstream copy of the work as made available to the general public through customary channels; or (ii) when such work is a nondramatic literary work, lawfully obtained and used by an authorized entity pursuant to 17 U.S.C. 121. | American Council of the Blind, American Foundation for the Blind, The Samuelson-Glushko Technology Law & Policy Clinic at the University of Colorado Law School |
| 2012 October 28 - | Wireless Telephone Handsets—Software Interoperability | Computer programs that enable wireless telephone handsets to execute lawfully obtained software applications, where circumvention is accomplished for the sole purpose of enabling interoperability of such applications with computer programs on the telephone handset. | Electronic Frontier Foundation, New America Foundation's Open Technology Initiative, New Media Rights, Mozilla Corporation, the Free Software Foundation, as well as several hundred individual supporters |
| 2012 October 28 - | Wireless Telephone Handsets—Interoperability With Alternative Networks | Computer programs, in the form of firmware or software, that enable a wireless telephone handset originally acquired from the operator of a wireless telecommunications network or retailer no later than ninety days after the effective date of this exemption to connect to a different wireless telecommunications network, if the operator of the wireless communications network to which the handset is locked has failed to unlock it within a reasonable period of time following a request by the owner of the wireless telephone handset, and when circumvention is initiated by the owner, an individual consumer, who is also the owner of the copy of the computer program in such wireless telephone handset, solely in order to connect to a different wireless
telecommunications network, and such access to the network is authorized by the operator of the network. |
Consumers Union, Youghiogheny Communications, LLC, MetroPCS Communications, Inc., and the Competitive Carriers Association |
| 2012 October 28 - | Motion Picture Excerpts—Commentary, Criticism, and Educational Uses (part 1) | • Motion pictures, as defined in 17 U.S.C. 101, on DVDs that are lawfully made and acquired and that are protected by the Content Scrambling System, where the person engaging in circumvention believes and has reasonable grounds for believing that circumvention is necessary because reasonably available alternatives, such as noncircumventing methods or using screen capture software as provided for in alternative exemptions, are not able to produce the level of high-quality content required to achieve the desired criticism or comment on such motion pictures, and where circumvention is undertaken solely in order to make use of short portions of the motion pictures for the purpose of criticism or comment in the following instances: (i) In noncommercial videos; (ii) in documentary films; (iii) in nonfiction multimedia ebooks offering film analysis; and (iv) for educational purposes in film studies or other courses requiring close analysis of film and media excerpts, by college and university faculty, college and university students, and kindergarten through twelfth grade educators. For purposes of this exemption, "noncommercial videos" includes videos created pursuant to a paid commission, provided that the commissioning entity's use is noncommercial. | Electronic Frontier Foundation, University of Michigan Library, and the Organization for Transformative Works; International Documentary Association, Kartemquin Educational Films, Inc., National Alliance for Media Arts and Culture, Independent Filmmaker Project, University of Michigan Library, and Mark Berger, Bobette Buster, Barnet Kellman, and Gene Rosow; University of Michigan Library, Library Copyright Alliance, Peter Decherney, Katherine Sender, Michael X. Delli Carpini, International Communication Association, Society for Cinema and Media Studies, and American Association of University Professors, and Media Education Lab at the Harrington School of Communication and Media at the University of Rhode Island. |
| 2012 October 28 - | Motion Picture Excerpts—Commentary, Criticism, and Educational Uses (part 2) | • Motion pictures, as defined in 17 U.S.C. 101, that are lawfully made and acquired via online distribution services and that are protected by various technological protection measures, where the person engaging in circumvention believes and has reasonable grounds for believing that circumvention is necessary because reasonably available alternatives, such as noncircumventing methods or using screen capture software as provided for in alternative exemptions, are not able to produce the level of high-quality content required to achieve the desired criticism or comment on such motion pictures, and where circumvention is undertaken solely in order to make use of short portions of the motion pictures for the purpose of criticism or comment in the following instances: (i) In noncommercial videos; (ii) in documentary films; (iii) in nonfiction multimedia ebooks offering film analysis; and (iv) for educational purposes in film studies or other courses requiring close analysis of film and media excerpts, by college and university faculty, college and university students, and kindergarten through twelfth grade educators. For purposes of this exemption, "noncommercial videos" includes videos created pursuant to a paid commission, provided that the commissioning entity's use is noncommercial. | Electronic Frontier Foundation |
| 2012 October 28 - | Motion Picture Excerpts—Commentary, Criticism, and Educational Uses (part 3) | • Motion pictures, as defined in 17 U.S.C. 101, on DVDs that are lawfully made and acquired and that are protected by the Content Scrambling System, where the circumvention, if any, is undertaken using screen capture technology that is reasonably represented and offered to the public as enabling the reproduction of motion picture content after such content has been lawfully decrypted, when such representations have been reasonably relied upon by the user of such technology, when the person engaging in the circumvention believes and has reasonable grounds for believing that the circumvention is necessary to achieve the desired criticism or comment, and where the circumvention is undertaken solely in order to make use of short portions of the motion pictures for the purpose of criticism or comment in the following instances: (i) in noncommercial videos; (ii) in documentary films; (iii) in nonfiction multimedia ebooks offering film analysis; and (iv) for educational purposes by college and university faculty, college and university students, and kindergarten through twelfth grade educators. For purposes of this exemption, "noncommercial videos" includes videos created pursuant to a paid commission, provided that the commissioning entity's use is noncommercial. | Electronic Frontier Foundation, University of Michigan Library, and the Organization for Transformative Works; International Documentary Association, Kartemquin Educational Films, Inc., National Alliance for Media Arts and Culture, Independent Filmmaker Project, University of Michigan Library, and Mark Berger, Bobette Buster, Barnet Kellman, and Gene Rosow; University of Michigan Library, Library Copyright Alliance, Peter Decherney, Katherine Sender, Michael X. Delli Carpini, International Communication Association, Society for Cinema and Media Studies, and American Association of University Professors, and Media Education Lab at the Harrington School of Communication and Media at the University of Rhode Island. |
| 2012 October 28 - | Motion Picture Excerpts—Commentary, Criticism, and Educational Uses (part 4) | • Motion pictures, as defined in 17 U.S.C. 101, that are lawfully made and acquired via online distribution services and that are protected by various technological protection measures, where the circumvention, if any, is undertaken using screen capture technology that is reasonably represented and offered to the public as enabling the reproduction of motion picture content after such content has been lawfully decrypted, when such representations have been reasonably relied upon by the user of such technology, when the person engaging in the circumvention believes and has reasonable grounds for believing that the circumvention is necessary to achieve the desired criticism or comment, and where the circumvention is undertaken solely in order to make use of short portions of the motion pictures for the purpose of criticism or comment in the following instances: (i) In noncommercial videos; (ii) in documentary films; (iii) in nonfiction multimedia ebooks offering film analysis; and (iv) for educational purposes by college and university faculty, college and university students, and kindergarten through twelfth grade educators. For purposes of this exemption, "noncommercial videos" includes videos created pursuant to a paid commission, provided that the commissioning entity's use is noncommercial. | Electronic Frontier Foundation |
| 2012 October 28 - | Motion Pictures and Other Audiovisual Works—Captioning and Descriptive Audio | Motion pictures and other audiovisual works on DVDs that are protected by the Content Scrambling System, or that are distributed by an online service and protected by technological measures that control access to such works, when circumvention is accomplished solely to access the playhead and/or related time code information embedded in copies of such works and solely for the purpose of conducting research and development for the purpose of creating players capable of rendering visual representations of the audible portions of such works and/or audible representations or descriptions of the visual portions of such works to enable an individual who is blind, visually impaired, deaf, or hard of hearing, and who has lawfully obtained a copy of such a work, to perceive the work; provided however, that the resulting player does not require circumvention of technological measures to operate. | Telecommunications for the Deaf and Hard of Hearing, Inc., Gallaudet University, and the Participatory Culture Foundation |
