Update from LIBER’s Copyright & Legal Matters Working Group

Posted: 19-12-2017 Topics: Copyright Strategy

LIBER’s Copyright & Legal Matters Working Group recently met face-to-face in Helsinki, and the topic of copyright reform in Europe was high on the agenda.

Helena Lovegrove, LIBER’s Advocacy Adviser, outlined the legislative process so far, including the stance of various political parties on copyright reform and LIBER’s upcoming actions.

Research libraries are closely watching the European Commission’s current work to reform copyright legislation because libraries and their users will be directly impacted by any changes to the law. Particularly interesting for libraries is a proposed new exception for Text and Data Mining (TDM) but numerous issues related to this potential exception still need to be addressed to ensure usability. Earlier this year, LIBER outlined its key demands for an effective TDM Exception and we recently collaborated with other research organisations to address TDM Myths and Misunderstandings.

Data Protection

The Working Group also discussed the new data protection rules which will come into force on 25 May 2018, and the impact of those rules on research libraries. The group agreed to start work on a set of guidelines for LIBER libraries, and to advocate for a code of conduct which includes libraries. A workshop on Data Protection will also be organised at LIBER’s 2018 Annual Conference in Lille.

Join The Working Group

At the meeting, the Copyright & Legal Matters Working Group also decided to put out a call for more people to participate in the Copyright & Legal Matters Working Group. Librarians and information specialists with an interest in law and technology, or legal experts passionate about the libraries of tomorrow, are invited to contact Jonas Holm, Chair of the Working Group, if they are interested in participating.

The main role of the Copyright & Legal Matters Working Group is to help act as LIBER’s expert resource in providing legal expertise on copyright and personal data protection to LIBER libraries. The group uses advocacy to try to influence a library and research friendly copyright framework and legislative agenda in Europe.