The Knowledge Rights 21 team was well represented at the 2025 LIBER Conference, held at the University of Lausanne, Switzerland. In addition to running a session focused on building alliances for reforms, individuals also spoke in a wide range of other sessions.
Librarians in universities and other research institutions are in a vital position. They both realise the potential of libraries as an essential knowledge infrastructure for science and innovation, and have a unique perspective on how laws and policies collectively impact the work of researchers.
The LIBER conference brings these librarians together, offering an opportunity not just to share experience and ideas, but also to explore how to address questions and overcome challenges.
For Knowledge Rights 21, it was an opportunity both to talk about the work that we are doing and the research that we have commissioned, but also to mobilise more voices to engage.
KR21’s Workshop on Building Alliances for Copyright & Open Science Reform
A key focus was our workshop on building alliances for open science reform, designed to support reflection across different countries on how to take a strategic approach.
The session began with an exploration of both types of reform that can support open science, primarily the adoption of rights retention strategies and the introduction of secondary publication rights, as well as experiences of which voices shaped change.
Two groups then mapped out the range of stakeholders with interests and (potential) influence around reform, from researchers and institutional leadership to scientific publishers, other rightsholders, and government.
One group examined how to achieve copyright reforms that make working with protected content, such as embedded content, far more straightforward. They underlined the need to ensure that lawmakers acknowledge the need for action, to mobilise researchers to help convey this message, and to overcome potential opposition from rightholders.
The other group explored how to overcome resistance to the uptake of rights to publish, often linked to fear of reprisals from publishers or other attitudes about open access publishing. Not just researchers, but also senior faculty, funders and university presses could all play a role, with a crucial step being to ensure that high-profile researchers demonstrate leadership.
We’re grateful to our speakers, Ignasi Labastida, Ophélie Wang, and Adeline Rege, for their engagement in the session, and to all our participants.
While the topics discussed have, of course, been on the table for a long time, participants underlined the value of taking a systematic approach to reflecting on who to work with and how to maximise chances of success.
Beyond the Workshop: Broader KR21 Engagement and Impact
Beyond the workshop, Policy Committee member Ignasi Labastida presented recent work by SPARC Europe, commissioned by KR21, on the role of librarians in co-shaping institutional rights retention policies through advocacy, developing policy frameworks, supporting open access compliance and guiding researchers.
Meanwhile, co-chairs of the LIBER Copyright & Other Legal Matters Working Group, Alex Fenlon and Susan Reilly (another KR21 Policy Committee member), engaged participants in discussions on implementing the KR21-funded LIBER Action Plan on Improving Access and Reuse of Research Results at the Power Networking session.
Overall, the conference helped underscore both the relevance of the topics at the heart of KR21’s work for the community and the potential to go further still in gathering evidence and extending mobilisation.
Impressions From the Conference
on Improving Access and Reuse of Research Results
at the KR21 Workshop
Ignasi Labastida at the KR21 Workshop
in co-shaping institutional rights retention policies
18 July 2025
