Universities, libraries and archives play a decisive role in providing access to knowledge and information for European citizens and, as such, are a crucial part of a functioning knowledge society. Unfortunately, the EU does not do enough to enable these institutions to pursue their public service mission in the digital environment. This needs to change! In order to discuss the issues that these institutions face and to identify a way forward, COMMUNIA is hosting an event on why Europe needs a Digital Knowledge Act. The event will take place on October 2nd, from 1500h to 1700h, and will bring together academics, representatives of civil society and EU policymakers to discuss legislative measures that would enable knowledge institutions to fulfil their public mission in the digital age. Learn more & register at the link below: https://lnkd.in/eJY34kKU
COMMUNIA
Political Organizations
COMMUNIA advocates for policies that expand the Public Domain and increase access to and reuse of culture and knowledge
About us
COMMUNIA is an international association incorporated under Belgian law that advocates for policies that expand the Public Domain and increase access to and reuse of culture and knowledge. It acts as a network of like-minded activists, researchers and practitioners based in Europe and the United States who seek to limit the scope of exclusive copyright to sensible proportions that do not place unnecessary restrictions on access and use. COMMUNIA’s mission is to foster, strengthen and enrich the Public Domain. Its origins trace back to the eponymous, originally European Commission-funded, Thematic Network, in which over fifty academics and activists participated, researching and promoting the digital Public Domain in Europe and worldwide. COMMUNIA takes the Public Domain as a point of departure for its analysis of copyright policy. Our definition of the Public Domain has been codified in the Public Domain Manifesto authored and published in 2011, which has been signed by more than 1500 organisations and individuals. The Public Domain Manifesto establishes a broad definition of the Public Domain that includes works that are not protected by copyright (because they have never been protected or because copyright protection has expired). It also encompasses usage rights created by open licensing practices and limitations and exceptions to copyright. Since most of COMMUNIA’s members are based in Europe, our primary focus is to advocate for improvements to the EU copyright framework. This work is guided by four principles, which are derived from our 20 Policy Recommendations: - Defend and expand the Public Domain. - Protect and promote usage rights. - Empower creators and their audiences. - Create safeguards against copyright abuse. To advance our mission, we engage in advocacy, offer expertise, raise awareness for the public domain, support strategic litigation and collaborate with other organisations in Brussels, in Europe and worldwide.
- Website
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https://communia-association.org/
External link for COMMUNIA
- Industry
- Political Organizations
- Company size
- 2-10 employees
- Headquarters
- Brussels
- Type
- Nonprofit
- Founded
- 2011
- Specialties
- Copyright, Education, Research, Cultural Heritage, and Public Domain
Locations
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Primary
Rue Joseph II 20
c/o Organisation Development Support
Brussels, 1000, BE
Employees at COMMUNIA
Updates
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COMMUNIA reposted this
Amidst skyrocketing industry lobbying and the far-right surge in Europe, civil society's agenda is key 🚨 On 1 October in Brussels, 30+ digital, social and climate justice organisations will open a dialogue with recently elected EU decision-makers at the #EUTechSociety Summit. Together, we will discuss tech's impact on democracy✊🏾, society 🌎 and the environment.🌱 ➡️ Check out the draft programme published today to learn what will drive the conversation: https://lnkd.in/g7eauDbc 💙 SOMO, EAPN - European Anti Poverty Network, European Environmental Bureau, Friends of the Earth Europe, Oxfam Intermón, Equinox: Racial Justice Initiative, Weaving Liberation, ILGA-Europe, Platform for Undocumented Migrants (PICUM), Front Line Defenders, Civil Liberties Union for Europe, Amnesty International, Access Now, European Center for Not-for-Profit Law Stichting, Privacy International, Bits of Freedom, Centre for Democracy & Technology Europe, Corporate Europe Observatory Wikimedia Europe BEUC - The European Consumer Organisation Danes je nov dan Corporate Europe Observatory, ARTICLE 19, Homo Digitalis, Open Future Foundation, Open Markets Institute, Right to Repair Europe, SHARE Fondacija, COMMUNIA, Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF), AI Now Institute, LobbyControl Aspiration
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Remember to sign up for our event on why Europe needs a Digital Knowledge Act on October 2nd, from 1500h to 1700h🤔 We recently announced our first set of speakers and are excited to be joined by, among others, Brigitte Vézina, Bernd Justin Jütte, Martin Senftleben, Paul Keller and Ben White. Find out more: https://lnkd.in/eJY34kKU
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🧐 We just announced the first speakers for our event on why Europe needs a Digital Knowledge Act on October 2nd, from 1500h to 1700h. The event will bring together academics, representatives of civil society and EU policymakers to discuss legislative measures that would enable knowledge institutions, such as libraries, universities and other research organisations, to fulfil their public mission in the digital age. Find out more & stay up to date: https://lnkd.in/eJY34kKU
COMMUNIA Association - Why Europe needs a Digital Knowledge Act
communia-association.org
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Soon the #AI Act will enter into force. In our latest blog post, we look at how the text interacts with the existing #copyright regime and provide an outlook on what needs to happen next in EU AI governance. Read more: https://lnkd.in/eqTFRf87
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Last week, together with KnowledgeRights21 we released an independent expert study by Christophe Geiger and Bernd Justin Jütte, which identifies positive obligations for rights holders to grant access to individual users and institutions. Read the full study on our website: https://lnkd.in/edFubka2
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In Italy, a new ministerial decree opens the door for the use of Public Domain heritage in scientific publications, but in many ways it still values control over access. 🖼 In a new blog post, Deborah De Angelis shines a light on the good and the bad of the new decree and the way forward: https://lnkd.in/eWiPj4n5
Italian Ministry of Culture's new decree opens the door for scientific publications
https://communia-association.org
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On Monday, together with KnowledgeRights21 we released an independent expert study by Christophe Geiger and Bernd Justin Jütte, which identifies positive obligations for rights holders to grant access to individual users and institutions. Read the full study on our website: https://lnkd.in/edFubka2
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Today, COMMUNIA is releasing Policy Paper #21 on the right to license and own digital materials, in which we highlight a crucial challenge that users face in the digital environment: the increasing inability to own digital copies of #copyright-protected material. Legacy physical formats, such as books, CDs and DVDs, are increasingly replaced by their digital-only counterparts and many entertainment media, such as movies and musical works, but also scientific articles and books released today are published exclusively in digital-only formats. This has opened the door for publishers to license works in digital formats instead of selling them, acting as gatekeepers and exercising much more control over their catalogues than ever before. Knowledge institutions, such as universities, libraries and archives, are particularly affected. They now have to rely on licences to access digital formats which makes it considerably more difficult to access and retain new works. They are also at the mercy of licensors who can impose subscription bundles, implement licensing restrictions, force institutions to repurchase the same materials on a regular basis, or even refuse to license altogether. In our policy paper we propose the introduction of access rights for users, together with a balanced obligation to license or sell to knowledge institutions, to allow them to continue to distribute knowledge to the public and benefit society as a whole. This obligation should be introduced as part of a comprehensive legislative package, a Digital Knowledge Act, which would address the needs of knowledge institutions in the digital age more broadly. Read the full paper on our website: https://lnkd.in/g6duB3Xd
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COMMUNIA reposted this
What happens to the Public Domain when the works in it have restricted access or paywalls? This is the case in several countries and we wanted to talk about it with COMMUNIA. Watch the recording of the latest COMMUNIA Salon to join the conversation: https://loom.ly/Jfbq_pY.
Video recording of COMMUNIA Salon: The hollowing of the Public Domain
https://communia-association.org