Publishers can easily block the new TDM exception
Today, LIBER, the Association of European Research Libraries, published results of the survey on content blocking, carried out by LIBER’s Copyright & Legal Matters Working Group and the UK Libraries and Archives Copyright Alliance (LACA). The results of the survey are worrying, as they show that the Text and Data Mining (TDM) exception contained in the new Directive 2019/790 can easily be undermined by technical blocking from publishers. This information is crucial in the light of consultations for implementation of the new Directive in Slovenia, which are to be held over the course of the next two weeks.
The new Directive 2019/790 in its Article 3 provides for the exception for TDM made by research organisations and cultural heritage institutions for the purposes of scientific research. In respect of this exception, the rightsholders are not only prohibited from preventing researchers from exercising their rights under the exception, but are also required to remove any technical protection measures (TPMs) that do so.
However, Article 3 of the new Directive does not specify how quickly the TPMs have to be removed and LIBER’s survey shows that this is highly problematic. Indeed, the survey shows that in practice rightsholders are not inclined to remove TPMs, and even when the TPMs are eventually removed, this takes a lot of time and resources. Consequently, this has negative implications to individual researchers, as well as institutions that are performing TDM.
Such findings show just how important it is that a provision, providing a maximum period of 72 hours to remove TPMs, is advocated for in the process of implementing the new Directive in national legislations of EU Member States (for suggestions on how to implement such a provision, see Communia Guidelines on implementation of articles 3 and 4 of the directive).
If such provision is not adopted by Member States, the new TDM exception will, as the survey shows, exist only in theory, as the rightsholders will easily prevent TDM with TPMs.
On 23rd of November, 2021, the European Commission has published two reports in the field of copyright, as required by Directives 2014/26/EU (CRM Directive) and 2019/790 (DSM Directive). They are supported by two studies: Study on emerging issues on collective licensing management in the digital environment, and Study on selected issues relating to the application of the CRM Directive.
A new book “Law and Artificial Intelligence: Issues of Ethics, Human Rights and Social Harm” was published (Institute of Criminology at the Faculty of law in Ljubljana, 2021), the editors of which are prof. dr. Aleš Završnik and dr. Katja Simončič. The author of one of the articles is also dr. Maja Bogataj Jančič, LL.M., LL.M., who wrote an article on the topic of whether artificial intelligence can be an author of a copyright work.
Jožef Štefan Institute is organising GO-DIP workshop series, first of them coming on November 19th, 2021 is revolving around software IP and data agreements. The GO-DIP project aims to increase the competencies of knowledge generators and intermediaries. At 15.10 dr. Maja Bogataj Jančič, LL.M., LL.M. will be lecturing in the Workshop: Development of a checklist for model digital IP agreements. Welcome!
2nd GPAI Summit will occur from 11-12 November, 2021 in Paris, France. Leading international AI experts from civil society, academia, industry and governments, including ministerial-level delegates from GPAI’s Membership, will come together for GPAI’s annual event. This public-facing event will include reporting on the ten Working Groups’ study topics, including the reporting of Data Governance Working Group (DG WG). Public conferences will be broadcasted live on GPAI’s Youtube channel. Welcome!