As part of our ongoing advocacy in the space, Authors Alliance has again responded to the U.S. Copyright Office’s call for further comments regarding anti-circumvention provisions in Section 1201 of the Digital Millennium Copyright Act. We believe in making reasonable exemptions from the law that protects digital “locks” that keep content inaccessible. In the past, we have successfully advocated for for such an exemption supporting the creative work of multimedia ebook authors, and earlier this year, we submitted comments in support of streamlining the law’s rulemaking process.

Our most recent comment is in favor of a permanent exemption that would improve access to copyrighted works by people who are blind, visually impaired, and print disabled. There is broad consensus that such an exemption is beneficial and necessary; in fact, it has been granted in every rulemaking cycle since 2003. We fully support a permanent exemption that would help make our members’ works accessible to these audiences. Read the full text of the comment here.