14 August 2018

In an opinion by copyright and open education expert, Lisette Kalshoven details how the provisions of article 4 of the proposed Copyright Directive raise causes for concern. The proposed text creates a new exception for educational based uses of protected content, though this is limited to formal educational settings (such as schools and classrooms), and may be overridden if there are easily available licences that the educational establishment could buy instead. The opinion highlights the importance of non-formal education (e.g. in libraries or the workplace), and how licensing based solutions are likely to be unhelpful (citing a study by Teresa Nobre).