Copyright Liability and the Knowledge Ecosystem

How does copyright uncertainty affect research, libraries, and public-interest AI development in Europe?

Register now¹ and join us in-person on 1 June at 14:00 CEST in Brussels at TownHall Europe to discuss the issue of legal risk and liability in the knowledge ecosystem with us!

European universities, research organisations, libraries and archives work daily with copyrighted materials to fulfil their public interest mission. While EU copyright law enables some activities (including via exceptions), legal uncertainty remains high, especially in cross-border contexts and in emerging AI use cases. This uncertainty can discourage research and innovation, pushing institutions and public-interest technology developers toward overly cautious approaches.

This event will bring together policymakers, researchers, and practitioners to discuss practical and legal pathways to reduce copyright-related legal risk for public-interest AI developers and academic and public libraries. It will also mark the release of two new research publications.

Agenda

13:45 – 14:00 Doors open & arrival

14:00 – 14:05 Opening remarks

• Teresa Nobre (COMMUNIA)

14:05 – 14:10 Update on the Commission’s ongoing work on copyright

• Lars Frietman (Copyright Unit at DG Connect – European Commission)

14:10 – 15:25 Expert panel discussions

Panel 1: Public AI developers & copyright: where legal uncertainty starts

Research presentation by Paul Keller (Open Future/COMMUNIA)

• Jan Hajič (Charles University Prague, Czech Republic)
• Anna Leschanowsky (Fraunhofer IIS/Soofi – Sovereign Open Source Foundation Model Initiative, Germany)
• Saskia Ostendorff (Wikimedia Deutschland, Germany)

Moderation: Paul Keller

Panel 2: Cultural heritage institutions & copyright: where legal risk should end

Research presentation by Martin Senftleben (IViR, Amsterdam University)

• Martin Senftleben
• Dyveke Sijm (Royal Danish Library, Denmark)
• Paul Klimpel (iRights.Law, Germany)
• Stephen Wyber (IFLA)

Moderation: Teresa Nobre (COMMUNIA)

15:25 – 15:30 Closing remarks

• MEP Sergey Lagodinsky

15:30 – 16:30 Networking reception with fingerfood and drinks

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