Last week, COMMUNIA submitted its response to the European Commission’s questionnaire on the European Innovation Act. The Commission considers this initiative a key element of the EU Startup and Scaleup Strategy, designed to improve conditions for innovators by facilitating the commercialisation of research results, strengthening collaboration between academia and industry, and improving access to markets, finance, talent, and infrastructure.
The non-commercial requirement in the research exception
In our submission, we focused on aspects of the questionnaire that affect access to and reuse of research results and resources. We reiterated one of the core messages from our Policy Paper #23 — that the non-commercial requirement in the research exception needs to be recalibrated. Today’s research ecosystem is increasingly characterised by public–private partnerships, with collaborations between universities, research institutions, and private companies often encouraged or even required by public funders. The law should reflect this reality.
To address this, lawmakers could consider removing the non-commercial limitation entirely or, alternatively, introducing a conditional approach depending on who performs the research. If at least one non-profit research organisation or cultural heritage institution is involved, no further requirements should apply — in line with Article 3 of the CDSM Directive. For research conducted outside an institutional context, the use of copyright-protected materials could remain subject to the condition that the use is not directly commercial.
Against incentives for researchers to obtain exclusive rights
We expressed strong opposition to proposals encouraging or incentivising the enclosure of publicly funded research through intellectual property protection. Research financed with taxpayers’ money should be treated as a public good, not as private property. Lawmakers should prioritise the widest possible access and free reuse of publicly funded research results to ensure that knowledge circulates broadly and delivers maximum societal value.
Intellectual property protection, by its very nature, creates exclusivity. This exclusivity limits access, complicates reuse, and often slows down the very processes of research and innovation it claims to foster. It can impede follow-on research by universities and public institutions and raise costs for both private enterprises and non-commercial actors that might otherwise build upon existing work.
By contrast, open and reusable research outputs amplify impact, promote cross-sector collaboration, and accelerate both scientific progress and innovation. In short: Publicly funded research should remain accessible to the public — open, shareable, and reusable without unnecessary legal barriers.
Access to other public sector outputs
The principle of openness must also extend beyond traditional research outputs. Governmental and other offocial documents, publicly funded studies, software, and databases are of high societal value. They underpin accountability, transparency, service delivery, and democratic participation. Restricting access through copyright or copyright-like protections, such as sui generis database rights, undermines these goals.
Accordingly, publicly funded documents and data should be openly accessible and free from exclusive rights. Governmental documents enable public oversight; sectoral studies provide the evidence base for political decision-making; software developed or procured by the public sector supports essential services; and public databases contain information of social, economic, and political significance. In all these cases, the public interest in accessibility clearly outweighs considerations of state ownership or exclusivity. Importantly, this would also ensure that their significant potential for research and development can be fully harnessed.
What should be the ambition of the European Innovation Act
In summary, the European Innovation Act should prioritise removing legal and practical barriers to access and reuse of resources protected by exclusive rights. By eliminating unnecessary copyright restrictions, securing open access publication, and ensuring that publicly funded works across all domains remain openly accessible, the EU can strengthen scientific progress, innovation, democratic participation, and public trust.
