Copyright Office weighs letting players fix broken game DRM and use replacement servers

The U.S. Copyright Office on October 28, 2026, opened public comment on 10 proposed new or expanded exemptions to the Digital Millennium Copyright Act's ban on circumventing technological measures that control access to copyrighted works, and two of them are about video games. One would let owners of old PC games get around copy protection that no longer works on current operating systems. The other would let owners connect lawfully acquired games to independently built replacement servers after a publisher shuts down or degrades the official online service.

The notice is the next stage of the tenth triennial review under section 1201 of the Copyright Act, which the office began on June 9, 2026. It also says the Register of Copyrights intends to recommend renewing the existing video game exemption in its current form. No comments were filed opposing that renewal. The rule lets players restore games whose authentication servers have been switched off, and lets libraries, archives and museums preserve them.

What the two game proposals would allow

Proposed Class 9 comes from an individual petitioner. It would cover individual owners of games whose DRM no longer works properly because of incompatibility or other errors with modern operating systems. The petition says many older Windows games sold on CD and DVD rely on protection such as SafeDisc, which current versions of Windows flag as a security threat, and that some of those games have no official patch and no working version available to buy.

The office notes that in the last cycle it considered and rejected a “substantively identical proposal” because the record did not show measurable harm in the marketplace. It asks commenters for examples of affected games and whether owners can get working copies without circumvention.

Proposed Class 10, from another individual petitioner, would widen the current exemption beyond “personal, local gameplay” to cover online play through “independently implemented replacement network infrastructure.” It would apply when the copyright owner has discontinued, materially degraded or replaced the original server functionality without providing an equivalent. The petition says it would not permit unauthorized copying or distribution of games, unauthorized access to publishers' servers or copying of proprietary server software.

When it created the original exemption in 2015, the Register concluded that supporters had not met their burden for continued online multiplayer play. The office now asks whether new legal or factual developments support an expansion, whether alternatives exist that do not require circumvention, and whether people who develop or operate replacement servers for owners count as users under the law.

What the current rule covers

Today's exemption applies only once a publisher has “ceased to provide access” to a server needed for authentication. That means it has said server support has ended, or the server has been down for at least six months. Play must be “local gameplay,” defined as play on a computer or console, or connected local machines, “and not through an online service or facility.” Eligible libraries, archives and museums may also preserve such games, along with games that never needed a server and are no longer reasonably available for sale, but may not make them available outside their premises.

Proponents asked to lift that premises limit in the last review. In the October 2024 final rule, the Register declined, noting “the greater risk of market harm” given “the market for legacy video games.” The Entertainment Software Association, which publishes annual surveys of U.S. players, was among those opposing the change. This year's two game proposals concern individual owners rather than institutions.

All ten proposed classes

The office received 43 renewal petitions and 25 petitions for new or expanded exemptions. It consolidated the new proposals into the 10 classes, which also take in the only renewal that drew meaningful opposition: medical device repair, now part of Class 8 as a new proposal. Two petitions were not put out for comment because they fall outside what the Librarian of Congress can adopt.

Deadlines

Comments are filed through regulations.gov and may not exceed 25 pages per class, excluding documentary evidence. The exemptions adopted on October 28, 2024, were granted for three years, so this round decides which exemptions apply in the next three-year period.