The Register of Copyrights and Director, U.S. Copyright Office, Shira Perlmutter replied to an inquiry from Representatives Bryan Steil and Joseph D. Morelles of the Committee on House Administration regarding when the USCO will issue its other reports from its AI study. In a letter dated Feb. 23, 2024, the USCO had said earlier it would finalize the reports “by the end of the fiscal year,” noted the two Representatives in their request for an update from the USCO.
Basically, the USCO says it needs more time. It received more than 10,000 public comments to its series of questions–and it read every one of them. The goal of publishing “by the end of the fiscal year” was a “self-imposed” target set by the USCO, not an official obligation.
While our self-imposed, ambitious timelines have shifted by a few months, due in part to competing statutory [DMCA anti-circumvention exemption rulemaking] and judicial deadlines, we are well along in the process of producing the rest of the report. Our current goal is still to complete the other two parts by the end of 2024.
However, given the complexities of the issues involved and the important public interest, we must prioritize the quality and soundness of our analysis over strict adherence to the target dates that we set. We will keep the Committee informed of any further timing adjustments.
Let me add that the release of the report will not be the end of the Copyright Office’s work on AI. In early 2025, we plan to update our March 2023 registration guidance for applicants and to initiate a request for public comments to revise parts of our Compendium of U.S. Copyright Office Practices. We will also be releasing a collection of economic discussion papers on the copyright issues raised by AI, produced by a
group of academic scholars convened by our Chief Economist.
The Copyright Office remains committed to continued timely, careful, and transparent work on copyright and AI.Register of Copyrights and Director, U.S. Copyright Office, Shira Perlmutter