Knowledge Rights 21 (KR21) advocates for a 21st century copyright environment across Europe that is friendly to the modern delivery and use of education and research materials as well as the spread of culture and heritage in the digital age.

With a focus on evidence and capacity building, our goal is to achieve and implement reforms to copyright law and practice that enable knowledge institutions to provide unhindered access to copyright works for education and research purposes.

Libraries are recognised as powerful interlocutors that have an important role to play in any copyright discussion as they seek to improve access to and use of knowledge in a fast changing digital environment. They are uniquely placed to know what elements in copyright and related bodies of law and licences do not work well causing uncertainties and impeding teaching, learning and research.

Working with public, national, educational, health and research libraries, universities and the wider access to knowledge movement, we aim to build networks and promote copyright reform at the European and national levels, and through our work leave a lasting legacy that influences similar developments elsewhere in the world.

Knowledge Rights 21 is a programme supported by Arcadia, managed by IFLA, in partnership with LIBER and SPARC Europe.

Partners

• Arcadia. Arcadia helps people to record cultural heritage, to conserve and restore nature, and to promote open access to knowledge. Visit their website to learn more about their charitable work.
• IFLA. The International Federation of Library Associations and Institutions (IFLA) is the leading international body representing the interests of library and information services and their users. It is the global voice of the library and information profession. IFLA is the main platform for formulating goals, exerting influence as a group, protecting interests, and finding solutions to global problems. IFLA offers you an international network to exchange ideas and to promote international cooperation, research and development in all fields. IFLA depends on the cooperation and active involvement of its members to reach its goals.
• LIBER Europe. LIBER (Ligue des Bibliothèques Européennes de Recherche – Association of European Research Libraries) is Europe’s largest research library network, connecting more than 420 national, university and other libraries. LIBER’s mission is to Enable World Class Research by representing the interests of our institutions, their universities and their researchers in several key areas.
• SPARC Europe. SPARC Europe is one of Europe’s key and long-standing voices advocating for unfettered access to research and education — for the academic and education community; for the whole of society. More openness in research and education, we believe, will lead to an accelerated rate of discovery in academia and in the private sector, and of learning at every strata of education. SPARC Europe is a Dutch foundation is committed to delivering on the promise of open access, open science, open scholarship and open education.