A Call for International Action for Right to Research
In the recent days, Global Network on Copyright Users Rights published an article, publicly calling upon WIPO to promote broad and open Text and Data Mining (TDM) exceptions and limitations in international setting in order to enable the use of new technologies in scientific research.
Last year, the Global Network on Copyright Users Rights (their member is also dr. Maja Bogataj Jančič, IPI) emphasised the importance of TDM exceptions in their Joint Comment to WIPO on Copyright and Artificial Intelligence, prepared as a part of the WIPO’s public call for comments on their Draft Issues Paper on Intellectual Property Policy and Artificial Intelligence. More in our post “Impact of AI on IP”.
The Global Network on Copyright Users Rights’ open call to action aims to shed light on the importance of using TDM and the so-called machine learning in research, and on the need for broad copyright exceptions and limitations for TDM and the open access. It is definitely not negligible that the new Coronavirus pandemic spread was foreseen with the use of TDM in the BlueDot project.
Therefore, the Global Network on Copyright Users Rights called upon WIPO to work on international instruments for facilitating the cross-border use of TDM as well as sharing of TDM results. This would pose a significant improvement against the current inadequate copyright regulation of TDM.
The issue at hand is of great importance in regards to the new EU Copyright Directive 2019/790 as well, since number of EU Member States find themselves in this very moment in the middle of crossroads, where they can implement a good and broad TDM exception, or they can go down the path of narrow and limiting TDM exception, which would seriously hinder further use of TDM, new technologies and AI. Read more on this topic in our post “Extraordinary conditions show the necessity for fast and good implementation of the new Directive”.
The Internet Archive is a non-profit organization that maintains the Open Library, a digital library index, and is dedicated to preserving knowledge. As many of the works in the Internet Archive are under copyright, the Archive uses a system of controlled digital lending based on digital rights management to prevent unauthorized downloading or copying of copyrighted books. In March 2020, due to the circumstances surrounding the COVID-19 pandemic, the Internet Archive established the National Emergency Library, eliminating the waiting lists used in the Open Library and expanding access to books for all readers. In June 2020, the Emergency National Library faced a lawsuit from four book publishers and was ultimately closed.
The 43rd session of the WIPO Standing Committee on Copyright and Related Rights (hereinafter SCCR) made substantial progress on the issues advocated by the A2K Coalition (Access to Knowledge Coalition), which IPI is a member of. This year’s session was the most productive on the issues of exceptions and limitations. James Love (Knowledge Ecology International), a long-time observer at WIPO, described the outcome and the impact of the public interest community as the strongest since the conclusion of the Marrakech Treaty, which brought global copyright exceptions for the benefit of the blind and visually impaired.
Today, March 17, 2023, a symposium on law in the information society is taking place in the golden lecture hall of the Faculty of Law in Ljubljana. Dr. Maja Bogataj Jančič will present copyright aspects of artificial intelligence at the symposium.
The third day of the 43rd session of the WIPO Standing Committee on Copyright and Related Rights is intended for discussion on the topic of exceptions and limitations to copyright, especially in connection with the right to research.