Blog post by Stephen Wyber
Europe fails researchers in 7 cases.
Europe faces increasingly intense competition for research talent. The Choose Europe for Science initiative responds by helping attract and retain researchers and by promoting Europe’s strengths.
To improve Europe’s attractiveness compared to its competitors, decision-makers will also need to assess how we compare to other jurisdictions on copyright and how well Europe’s regime works for researchers.
There is still plenty to do!
7 Reasons to Fix Legislation for Research!
Choosing Europe for science means choosing Europe for knowledge, too.
01 | Text & Data Mining (TDM) with Industry Partners
Elsewhere ILJPSGKRCHTWUS
Israel, Japan, Singapore, South Korea, Switzerland, Taiwan and the US all allow TDM on legally accessed materials in partnership with industry, bringing extra resources to research institutions.
Europe
In the EU and UK, commercial partners are excluded. Researchers must buy an additional licence for content they already legally access, if one exists at all, and publisher contracts increasingly even try to block non-commercial TDM, against EU law.
02 | Cross-Border Document Supply Between Libraries
Elsewhere SG
A researcher in Singapore can access a wide range of content from abroad, thanks to a permissive approach to copying and resource sharing between libraries. Collaborative projects are far simpler when materials held in only one institution can be shared ad hoc.
Europe
Cross-border document delivery is not covered by Union law. A researcher must travel to a library in another country, if they can afford it, pay large sums for very short-term access, or take legal risks to obtain the information they need.
03 | Protection Against Unfair Contract Terms
Elsewhere SG
In Singapore, institutions are protected against unfair contract terms that would oblige them to sign away their rights under copyright exceptions. Libraries can ignore shrink-wrap terms from international publishers and fully enjoy those exceptions.
Europe
There is no such protection. Research institutions and their libraries frequently face unfair contract terms, chilling what they should be able to do under law.
04 | Limited Liability for Good-Faith Mistakes
Elsewhere US
A librarian in the US can be confident in the support they offer researchers and faculty, knowing liability is limited for errors made in good faith after reasonable efforts. They are far less likely to say no to researchers’ requests.
Europe
Institutions face liability even for honest mistakes. Damages may be smaller than in the US, but there is no appetite for risk, so librarians are more likely to refuse uses of materials where there is even the slightest doubt.
05 | Sharing Data & Results From Machine Learning Research
Elsewhere ILJPSGKRTWUS
In Israel, Japan, Singapore, South Korea, Taiwan and the US, researchers can share digitised material in machine learning projects, and provide the data for peer review, without fear. Flexible copyright provisions treat this as fair, supporting open science and maximising impact.
Europe
There is usually no guarantee that the data used for TDM research can be shared, or even that results can be, as this could infringe the making available right. This adds uncertainty and complexity.
06 | Removing Technological Protection Measures (TPMs)
Elsewhere JPCHUS
A researcher in the US who hits a TPM can rely on an explicit right to remove these locks, saving considerable time. In Japan and Switzerland too, circumvention for most research and library activities is lawful without anyone’s permission.
Europe
Researchers and institutions can ask courts or local authorities to remove TPMs, but few bother, given the cumbersome and disproportionate process, and fewer still get any resolution. It is easier to give up and narrow the corpus used in their research.
07 | Digital Access to Library Collections in Emergencies
Elsewhere US
In an emergency such as the COVID-19 pandemic, a researcher in the US can access digitised versions of their institution’s library collection through initiatives such as HathiTrust, which centrally holds digitised copies of physical books.
Europe
There is no such possibility. Libraries may need to relicense content they already own in digital form in order to provide access, or simply have to say no.
The seven cases, slide by slide:
1 October 2026
