LIBER is pleased to endorse the ICOLC Statement on AI in Licensing.
The Statement, issued by the International Coalition of Library Consortia (ICOLC), represents a reaction to recent changes in electronic licensing language that seeks to restrict and prevent AI uses which seems to contradict and undermine EU law, the rights of users and the right to engage in world-class research using the latest digital technologies.
LIBER is committed to intellectual freedom and access to scholarship, supporting our members and the rights of their users in line with the principles of the Statement:
- “AI clauses will permit the use of AI for any and all legal purposes that support consortia members’ core missions of non-commercial research, teaching, learning, and equitable access to information,
- Multi-year licenses that include AI clauses will formally establish opportunities for the revision and/or updating of language related to AI during the term of the agreement to reflect legal or technological developments,
- AI clauses will not restrict user actions in ways that are fundamentally unenforceable,
- AI clauses will in no way prevent authorized users from making licensed content fully accessible to other authorised users in any legal manner,
- AI clauses will not be introduced into a negotiation in a way that limits a member’s opportunity to fully review the clauses in accordance with the consortium’s regular review procedure,
- AI clauses will not introduce new liability clauses beyond the scope of what has previously been agreed upon, especially for actions of authorized users.”
The ICOLC Statement is an important step for the sector as we look to reinforce the rights of institutions and our users to engage in world-class research activity. We are increasingly seeing license agreements which try to prevent AI and data mining activities in direct conflict with EU law. We ask vendors to follow the Statement’s principles and ensure that researchers can exercise their rights to engage in research activity in line with the rights enshrined in the EU.
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About LIBER
LIBER (Ligue des Bibliothèques Européennes de Recherche – Association of European Research Libraries) is the main network for research libraries in Europe. Founded in 1971, the association has grown steadily to include more than 400 national, university, and other libraries from over 40 countries. Together we work to represent the interests of European research libraries, their universities, and their researchers in several key areas. We lobby policymakers on issues such as Copyright and Open Access. We collaborate with our member libraries and partnering organisations, and through events such as our Annual Conference we create opportunities for library professionals to meet and learn from each other.