Statement from European Research Organisations and Libraries on Copyright in the Digital Single Market

Science Europe, together with five key European research organisations have this week released a statement calling on Members of the European Parliament to modify the current EU copyright reform proposal, to give Europe the opportunity to become a global leader in data-driven research and innovation.

Amendments demanded in 5 key areas

Science Europe, along with LIBER Europe*, CESAER, EUA, LERU— who together represent hundreds of universities, libraries, and research funding and performing organisations state that amendments in five main areas of the proposal are critical if Europe wants to be at the forefront of a prosperous and growing digital society, the vision set out by the European Commission in its strategy for a Digital Single Market. The areas singled out for change are those that directly affect the research and education sector, and key among those are modifications related to Text and Data Mining (TDM).

(*The National Library of Luxembourg is a member of LIBER Europe)

‘the right to read is the right to mine’

The statement calls on European legislators to use this opportunity to remove barriers to scientific breakthroughs and to boost innovation in Europe by enshrining the principle ‘the right to read is the right to mine.’ Implementing this principal will remove barriers to TDM, as well as maximising the impact of Open Access and Open Science, creating a truly modern framework to ensure that the most advanced research and innovation practices can be applied for the benefit of society.