Barriers to licensing out-of-commerce works under Article 8

In April 2026, COMMUNIA convened an online meeting with practitioners from the cultural heritage sector to examine persistent obstacles related to the making available of out-of-commerce works under Article 8 of the Directive (EU) 2019/790 on copyright and related rights in the Digital Single Market (DSM Directive). Seven participants from six Member States (Austria, Germany, Italy, the Netherlands, Slovenia, and Sweden) identified challenges that render the application of the mechanism difficult in practice. This report provides an overview of the main findings and sets out recommendations for strengthening the framework.