Before the
U.S. COPYRIGHT OFFICE
LIBRARY OF CONGRESS
In the matter of exemption to prohibition on circumvention
of copyright protection systems for access control technologies
Docket No. RM 2008-08
Comments of the Electronic Frontier Foundation
in Support of Proposed Classes 5A, 5D, 11A
and of The Wireless Alliance, ReCellular and FlipSwap
in Support of Proposed Class 5D
Submitted by:
Fred von Lohmann
Jennifer S. Granick
Electronic Frontier Foundation
454 Shotwell St.
San Francisco, CA 94110
(415) 436-9333
(415) 436-9993 (fax)
fred@eff.org
Pursuant to the Notice of Inquiry of Exemption to Prohibition on Circumvention of
Copyright Protection Systems for Access Control Technologies1 (“NOI”), the Electronic Frontier
Foundation (EFF) submits these reply comments on behalf of itself and, with respect to the portion
of this reply comment discussing Proposed Class 5D, on behalf of The Wireless Alliance,
ReCellular and FlipSwap, the original applicants for Class 5D.
These reply comments provide additional legal and factual support for each of the
following proposed classes of works for which an exemption has been sought:
Proposed Class 5A: 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.
Proposed Class 5D: Computer programs in the form of firmware that enable wireless
telephone handsets to connect to a wireless telephone communication network, when
1 73 Fed. Reg. 58083 (Oct. 6, 2008).
circumvention is accomplished for the sole purpose of lawfully connecting to a wireless telephone
communication network, regardless of commercial motive.
Proposed Class 11A: Audiovisual works released on DVD, where circumvention is
undertaken solely for the purpose of extracting clips for inclusion in noncommercial videos that do
not infringe copyright.
I. Additional Support for Proposed Class 5A
Summary of A