Use of content protected by technical protection measures (TPMs) can be burdensome or even impossible, when there are no clear and rapid mechanisms in place to unlock such protection measures or when it is not possible to locate the owners of such measures. Circumvention of TPMs should thus be explicitly allowed when exercising usage rights, and the deployment of TPMs to hinder access to Public Domain material on copyright grounds should be prohibited. In addition, to protect users against abusive contractual practices and to ensure that they do not lose their rights, contractual terms that seek to prohibit usage rights should be rendered unenforceable.
The 2nd edition of this publication by COMMUNIA, Centrum Cyfrowe, Wikimedia Sverige and the Intellectual Property Law Institute assembles a wider selection of interviews than the 1st edition, and features researchers working on EU-funded cross-border research projects.
A fair and modern copyright framework is essential for an enabling European research environment. However, researchers often find that their access, use and reuse of resources essential to their activities is still limited by copyright and related rights. While, thanks to the 2019 DSM directive, they now benefit from a EU wide text and data […]
On 6th of March, from 1500h to 1700h, COMMUNIA will host the “Unlocking Knowledge Conference” at Town Hall Europe, which will bring together academics, representatives of civil society and EU policymakers to discuss how to enable knowledge institutions to play a bigger part in creating a flourishing information ecosystem. Knowledge institutions – educational, research, and […]
As we’re approaching the European election season, COMMUNIA is rolling out its proposals for the ‘24-’29 legislature. In an op-ed published on Euractiv, we ask the next Commission and Parliament to finally put the needs of Europe’s knowledge institutions, such as libraries, universities and schools, front and center. Over the next five years, we need […]
This publication by COMMUNIA, Centrum Cyfrowe, Wikimedia Sverige and the Intellectual Property Law Institute intends to demonstrate some of the problems that EU researchers face due to the lack of exceptions to access research resources remotely and to share research results and underlying resources for purposes of verification and dissemination. It assembles a selection of […]
COMMUNIA is part of a group of civil society organizations from all around the globe that promotes access to, and use of, knowledge, the Access to Knowledge or A2K Coalition. COMMUNIA has been a co-initiator of the A2K Coalition. Today, the A2K Coalition is launching its website with demands for education, research and cultural heritage. […]
Educational licences for using copyrighted content in schools include many terms and conditions that restrict users’ rights and that are unfair or unreasonable. In this handout we highlight the 5 most questionable terms and conditions identified in the collective agreements analyzed in our study Educational Licenses in Europe.
In this handout we suggest measures for the consideration of EU lawmakers to avoid giving right holders the unilateral power to reshape the terms and conditions of educational uses, and spreading the disadvantages identified in our study Educational Licenses in Europe.
This study by Teresa Nobre demonstrates that educational licenses contain terms and conditions that are inherently disadvantageous to licensees, thus supporting the contention that subjugating educational rights to contractual arrangements is not advisable and is counterproductive. It analyses ten collective agreements for educational uses in force in Finland, France and the United Kingdom pertaining to […]
