Valentina Moscon

Academic Freedom, Copyright, and Access to Scholarly Works: A Comparative Perspective

The right to academic freedom protected both under international treaties and national constitutions is at the very heart of social, cultural, and economic development. As far as scientific research and teaching are concerned, copyright has to be considered within the context of a proper balancing of rights. This issue will be addressed taking into account the traditional publication model in light of the peculiarities of scientific research, including the mechanisms of evaluating research and the relevant stakeholders’s interests that differ from those characterizing other sectors of content production. We will analyze whether the current practice in academic content dissemination and legal framework are compliant with academic freedom principles, considering the role of copyright in science. Since effective protection of academic freedom also depends on the possibility of access to knowledge, we will examine whether and how the open access model can achieve a proper balance between the rights at stake, looking at legal instruments recently issued by Italian, German, and US legislatures. Proposal for copyright provisions tailored to specific needs of the scientific field will be considered as well.

Position Statement of the Max Planck Institute for Innovation and Competition on the Proposed Modernisation of European Copyright Rules, PART B: Exceptions and Limitations, Chapter 3 - Preservation of Cultural Heritage (Article 5 COM(2016) 593)

On 14 September 2016 the European Commission published a package of proposals aimed at the modernisation of copyright within the digital single market. This copyright package is of particular interest to the Max Planck Institute for Innovation and Competition, which has been committed since its founding in 1966 to the analysis and development of intellectual property and competition law on the basis of established scientific principles. The Institute has responded to all of the proposals included in the copyright package in a Position Statement. It includes several parts and chapters examining whether the suggested provisions are adequate for reaching their intended objectives. In response to certain critical evaluations, a number of alternatives have been suggested. Each part and chapter has been published on the Institute’s website in the course of recent months. These have been brought together in the present e-book.1. Text and data mining (TDM) refers to comparatively new analysis techniques to automatically assess large amounts of digital information by means of computers, thereby generating new knowledge (in particular by identifying correlations or trends). TDM is applied in a wide range of fields: in the social sciences, humanities and natural sciences, such as pharmaceutical and medical research, and in journalism, but also in the private sector, for example in financial industries or for the purpose of market research.

Modernisation of the EU Copyright Rules Position Statement of the Max Planck Institute for Innovation and Competition

On 14 September 2016 the European Commission published a package of proposals aimed at the modernisation of copyright within the digital single market. This copyright package is of particular interest to the Max Planck Institute for Innovation and Competition, which has been committed since its founding in 1966 to the analysis and development of intellectual property and competition law on the basis of established scientific principles. The Institute has responded to all of the proposals included in the copyright package in a Position Statement. It includes several parts and chapters examining whether the suggested provisions are adequate for reaching their intended objectives. In response to certain critical evaluations, a number of alternatives have been suggested. Each part and chapter has been published on the Institute’s website in the course of recent months. These have been brought together in the present e-book.1. Text and data mining (TDM) refers to comparatively new analysis techniques to automatically assess large amounts of digital information by means of computers, thereby generating new knowledge (in particular by identifying correlations or trends). TDM is applied in a wide range of fields: in the social sciences, humanities and natural sciences, such as pharmaceutical and medical research, and in journalism, but also in the private sector, for example in financial industries or for the purpose of market research.

Position Statement of the Max Planck Institute for Innovation and Competition on the Proposed Modernisation of European Copyright Rules, PART C: Out-of-Commerce Works (Articles 7-9 COM(2016) 593)

On 14 September 2016 the European Commission published a package of proposals aimed at the modernisation of copyright within the digital single market. This copyright package is of particular interest to the Max Planck Institute for Innovation and Competition, which has been committed since its founding in 1966 to the analysis and development of intellectual property and competition law on the basis of established scientific principles. The Institute has responded to all of the proposals included in the copyright package in a Position Statement. It includes several parts and chapters examining whether the suggested provisions are adequate for reaching their intended objectives. In response to certain critical evaluations, a number of alternatives have been suggested. Each part and chapter has been published on the Institute’s website in the course of recent months. These have been brought together in the present e-book.1. Text and data mining (TDM) refers to comparatively new analysis techniques to automatically assess large amounts of digital information by means of computers, thereby generating new knowledge (in particular by identifying correlations or trends). TDM is applied in a wide range of fields: in the social sciences, humanities and natural sciences, such as pharmaceutical and medical research, and in journalism, but also in the private sector, for example in financial industries or for the purpose of market research.

Open Access, Open Science, Open Society

Open Access’ main goal is not the subversion of publishers’ role as driving actors in an oligopolistic market characterised by reduced competition and higher prices. OA’s main function is to be found somewhere else, namely in the ability to subvert the power to control science’s governance and its future directions (Open Science), a power that is more often found within the academic institutions rather than outside. By decentralising and opening-up not just the way in which scholarship is published but also the way in which it is assessed, OA removes the barriers that helped turn science into an intellectual oligopoly even before an economic one. The goal of this paper is to demonstrate that Open Access is a key enabler of Open Science, which in turn will lead to a more Open Society. Furthermore, the paper argues that while legislative interventions play an important role in the top-down regulation of Open Access, legislators currently lack an informed and systematic vision on the role of Open Access in science and society. In this historical phase, other complementary forms of intervention (bottom-up) appear much more “informed” and effective. This paper, which intends to set the stage for future research, identifies a few pieces of the puzzle: the relationship between formal and informal norms in the field of Open Science and how these impact on intellectual property rights, the protection of personal data, the assessment of science and the technology employed for the communication of science.

University Knowledge Transfer: From Fundamental Rights to Open Access Within International Law

Education, research, cooperation, and social participation all play a role in innovation as a catalyst for economic and social progress. Universities are among the chief stakeholders in this process. Nonetheless privatization of scientific outputs weakens the benefits of science to society and undermines the norms of science, which are based on accessing and sharing knowledge. Indeed, there is growing disorder in setting university missions whereby IP is evaluated as a value in of itself. Yet, scientific results are a collective achievement, built on vast quantities of publicly funded research and university knowledge transfer occurs mostly through open conferences, databases, and publications. This chapter focuses on scholarly publishing as a segment of knowledge transfer. It will examine open access as a tool that, according to a holistic approach, contributes to establishing a balance among all basic rights at stake, including academic freedom. The idea of a pluralistic system of knowledge transfer where “open” and “proprietary” models are not mutually exclusive will be defended. Moreover, an incentive-oriented copyright change, tailored to the specific needs of research, might be built on the TRIPS flexibility. While TRIPS prohibits discrimination, it does not prevent States from treating different situations differently. Accordingly, we might imagine a paradigm shift in the protection of academic works. Indeed, while moral right is a cornerstone, commercial exploitation of publications is not the aim of academic authors. Therefore, applying a “functional” perspective to IP the work should be protectable as long as its market needs to be preserved.