The new exception to the copyright rules on text and data mining should not be restricted to research bodies. This is one of the conclusions drawn by the European Parliament’s research service, in a “detailed analysis” published on Tuesday 27 February.
It should be recalled that the Commission presented a legislative draft in September 2016 establishing a new neighbouring law for newspaper publishers and measures to tackle the value gap. The text also proposed new exceptions to copyright rules, including text and data mining (a technique that consists in analysing huge quantities of information in digital format, by way of automated information technologies).
The European Parliament study specifically focuses on the legal aspects of the exception on text and data mining (article 3 of the proposal). First of all, it is delighted with the introduction of a mandatory exception for text mining and points out that current fragmentation is a result of the voluntary nature of the exceptions allowed under the InfoSoc (2001/29/EC) directive. It points out that at this stage, only the United Kingdom (2014), France (2016), Estonia and Germany (2017) have adopted this kind of provision at national level. Nonetheless, it considers that the Commission proposal does not go far enough.
Recommendations
The authors of the study consider that the exception to text mining should not be restricted to research bodies but be extended to all those that benefit from legal access to the underlying materials analysed, just as the right to read should be the right to mine, they add. This will be done in an effort to to prevent research start-ups and independent researchers from being paralysed. The study indicates that whatever happens, the possibility of extending exceptions to other defined categories of beneficiaries, such as journalists, should at least be assessed.
Another suggestion involves the authors proposal to examine the possibility of an "opening clause" that would help to tackle situations that are not yet covered by existing exceptions and restrictions but which are justified by upholding the public interest and fundamental rights, such as the freedom of expression and the right to information.
The study proposes to replace the reference to legal access with legal use, which is better defined by the case law of the European Court of Justice. The proposal suggests restricting the exception to content and other objects for which research bodies have "legal access”.
The authors also point out that some studies consider that text and data mining could create a value that exceeds hundreds of billions of euro for Europe, if the data could be used more efficiently. The text of the study is available at the following link: http://bit.ly/2F6FQBd. (Original version in French by Sophie Petitjean)