Future-proofing European Research Excellence: A Statement from European Research Organisations on Copyright in the Digital Single Market

"The world stands on the cusp of a revolution driven by the advance of digital technologies and capacity. Europe must take the lead to develop legislative frameworks that allow fair dissemination, access to, sharing and use of available knowledge.

Broad sections of society and the economy — including the research, innovation and education sectors which underpin competitiveness and sustainability in a knowledge society — are seeking to improve the way they work, produce results and provide impact. Digital technology is key for this. It is often the most effective way to harness information and improve services, products and solutions aimed at addressing society’s challenges.

The European Commission has recognised this in its strategy for a Digital Single Market — a vision which aims to put Europe at the forefront of a prosperous and growing digital society.

The success of the strategy hinges on allowing innovative sectors of society and the economy to fairly and responsibly exploit the full potential of research and human creativity.

The decisions that European legislators and policymakers take on copyright will have a decisive bearing on whether or not Europe can harness this opportunity, and on European competitiveness in research and innovation long into the future. We know that European policymakers are keenly aware of the need to serve the many different sectors involved, to foster creation of knowledge and to avoid adding barriers which would impinge on the greater good.

In light of this, we, as representatives of the European research community, stand together to make the case for copyright reform to provide legal certainty around cross-border research activities and the deployment of new technologies for research and innovation."