Text and Data Mining Copyright Exceptions Regulation in Central and Southeastern Europe

This research study examines the implementation of the text and data mining (hereinafter: TDM) exceptions in the copyright laws of selected Central and Southeastern European countries. The study examines copyright laws of Slovenia and Croatia, which are both members of the European Union (hereinafter: EU) that have implemented the EU TDM exceptions, namely articles 3 and 4 from the Directive (EU) 2019/790 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 17 April 2019 on copyright and related rights in the Digital Single Market and amending Directives 96/9/EC and 2001/29/EC (hereinafter: DSM Directive). Other countries in the region do not have similar exceptions in their copyright laws.

The absence of similar exceptions in Bosnia and Herzegovina, Serbia, and North Macedonia challenges the more uniform application of text and data mining practices across the region. Extending these exceptions to all regional legislations could enhance open science, improve collaboration, and stimulate innovation, benefiting the entire research community and incentivising private-public partnerships.

A broader legislative harmonisation across the region would foster a more interconnected and collaborative scientific and business community. The countries in the region could especially learn from the good implementation in Slovenia when they add the possibility of digitising analogue material for the purpose of the TDM and sharing results and also add penalties for the copyright holders if the enjoyment of the TDM exceptions is prohibited by technological protection measures and be hindered by the bad implementation that relates to narrow definition of legal access. The implementation in Croatia took into account the lawful access provision from the DSM Directive, allowing content from the open web to be included for TDM purposes.

This study was conducted by Open Data and Intellectual Property Institute ODIPI with the support of the Knowledge Rights 21 programme. This is the first research study conducted within the framework of the Knowledge Rights 21 Research Network for Central & Southeastern Europe (KR21 Research Network for C&SE Europe) led by Dr. Maja Bogataj Jančič, Open Data and Intellectual Property Institute. Members of the network that conducted this research are prof. Dr. Ivana Kunda (Croatia); Prof. Dr. Iza Razija Mešević (Bosna in Herzegovina); Prof. Dr. Neda Zdraveva (North Macedonia); and Prof. Dr. Dušan V. Popović (Serbia), Associate Prof. Dr. Tihomir Katulić (Croatia) and Dr. Maja Bogataj Jančič (Slovenia). This research study examines the implementation of the TDM exceptions in copyright laws of selected Central and Southeastern European countries.