New KR21 research and study: Copyright as an Access Right
In June 2024, the Knowledge Rights 21 (KR21) network and Communia, published research findings in a publication entitled Copyright as an Access Right: Concretizing Positive Obligations for Rightholders to Ensure the Exercise of User Rights, which was authored by professors Christophe Geiger and Bernd Justin Jütte.
Access to information is crucial for cultural and artistic creativity and scientific innovation. Without access to prior creations, further creativity and innovation are prevented. Providing access to these creative works requires a careful balancing of the interests of creators and producers of information and publishers on the one side, and users of that information on the other. In addition, the public interest in promoting cultural and scientific progress must be considered, which is supported by the fundamental rights and sustainability objectives included in the EU Treaties. This study explores what positive obligations arising directly from the status of exceptions and limitations should be imposed on rightholders as a consequence of the rights enjoyed by users under copyright law, particularly in light of the fundamental rights they reflect. The authors believe that it is necessary to ensure that access to copyrighted works is possible under fair and reasonable conditions, especially when it is a prerequisite for the exercise of exceptions and limitations. As a consequence, they propose that exceptions and limitations reflecting fundamental rights become mandatory and that prohibitions on contractual override are applied horizontally. You can read more about the study at the following link.
KR21 has already issued and published several publications in the past, which we have already reported on and we invite you to read again:
On December 3, 2024, the “Knowledge Rights 21 Regional Alliance – Network of Librarians and Copyright Experts from Central and Southeastern Europe”, was officially established at a meeting hosted at the Four Points by Sheraton Ljubljana Hotel. The event was organized by Open Data and Intellectual Property Institute ODIPI and chaired by Dr. Maja Bogataj Jančič.
Recordings and presentations from all speakers at the ERA KR21 Conference Slovenia are now available on the subpage “Recordings and PPTs of Presentations by Speakers”.
Open Data and Intellectual Property Institute ODIPI invites you to a discussion organized by the European Commission Representation in Slovenia titled “Democracy in the Grip of Disinformation: What Can the EU Do?”. The event will take place on Friday, December 13, 2024, from 11:00 to 12:30 at the House of the EU in Ljubljana, Slovenia and online.
Open Data and Intellectual Property Institute ODIPI organized the ERA KR21 Conference Slovenia on December 2, 2024, with the support of the Ministry of Higher Education, Science, and Innovation of the Republic of Slovenia and the Knowledge Rights 21 (KR21) program. The Conference focused on addressing the most pressing issues in copyright regulation in the fields of science and Open Science within the European Union (EU), with particular emphasis on barriers and incentives for Open Science in copyright law. The event represented the contribution of the Government of the Republic of Slovenia to implementing European Research Area (ERA) Policy Agenda Action 2, which focuses on creating a supportive EU legislative framework for copyright and data governance.