COMMUNIA - Association for the Public Domain

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…

The evidence collected by COMMUNIA and its research partners demonstrates that existing copyright rules continue to create obstacles for scientific research, public-interest AI development and cultural heritage dissemination. Researchers continue to face legal uncertainty when sharing research materials across borders. Public-interest AI initiatives lack clarity regarding the application of the TDM exceptions.

The attached document contains a joint statement on behalf of a number of civil society organisations in response to the inception impact assessments on a new competition tool and an ex ante regulatory instrument of very large online platforms acting as gatekeepers.

COMMUNIA strongly supports the completion of the European Research Area (ERA), where researchers, knowledge, and technology can circulate freely. To achieve this goal, it is essential to address the remaining legal barriers that fragment the ERA and restrict the free flow of scientific knowledge.

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. In our contribution, we thus focus on users rights considerations.