In Article 3 of the “Proposal for a Directive on copyright in the Digital Single Market COM(2016) 593 final” the European Commission suggests an exception for text and data mining (TDM). While, in principle, a clear legal framework for TDM is to be welcomed, the proposed provisions are to be criticized regarding their scope and the applied regulatory method. This Position Statement develops an alternative proposal: Since TDM is to be seen as a normal use of works and other protected subject-matter, a field exemption is suggested allowing everyone to carry out TDM related to lawfully accessible works or other subject-matter. This includes the permission to extract contents of databases and to make reproductions for the sole purpose of TDM. Moreover, research organizations also need to carry out TDM regarding content to which they do not have lawful access. The proposal includes a specific provision obliging rightholders who market works or other subject-matter primarily for research purposes to provide datasets suitable for TDM only, for which they may request a reasonable payment.
MPI_Position_Statement_Part_B_Chapter_1_Update23022017.pdf
SSRN - Also published as: Max Planck Institute for Innovation & Competition Research Paper No. 17-02
Also published in: Hilty, Reto M.; Moscon, Valentina: Modernisation of the EU Copyright Rules - Position Statement of the Max Planck Institute for Innovation and Competition, Max Planck Institute for Innovation and Competition Munich 2017, 25 - 34 under the title: Part B – Copyright Exceptions and Limitations, Chapter 1: Text and Data Mining (Article 3 COM(2016) 593 final)
