“The right to read is the right to mine”. That was the motto of yesterday’s meeting at the European Commission, where we discussed how new European copyright laws would affect text and data mining (TDM) research.

The new proposal would seriously impede the use of TDM for businesses; effectively they would not have the right to mine content they already have legal access to, which is of course very strange.

The proposal does include an exemption for non-commercial research organizations – which includes universities, and with that, my work – but this is still not sufficient. For one, it would prevent scientists to commercialize any breakthroughs based on TDM research. On top of that, an increasing number of scientists seaks collaboration with businesses (for example, to increase the chances of getting a Horizon 2020 grant).

For updates on this legislation, and more info on the TDM restrictions, see the website, including an open letter, of the European Alliance for Research Excellence (EARE).