Opening Knowledge: Retaining Rights and Licensing in Europe 2023

The new report of the Knowledge Rights 21 project partner SPARC Europe is now available.

‘Opening Knowledge: Retaining Rights and Licensing in Europe 2023’: https://lnkd.in/eVg9HTK7

The report, prepared with the support of Knowledge Rights 21, reveals the progress of institutional rights preservation policies in Europe, provides insights into open access rights preservation policies and offers options to address different situations.

The report is of particular importance because there is a diversity of stakeholders who play an important role in making research publications accessible and re-usable, and the value of dialogue in overcoming fears, misunderstandings and disagreements.

What are some of the key recommendations?

Institutional policymakers: amplify existing policies supporting rights retention.

Funders & legislators: formulate policies accommodating different contexts, but adhering to common frameworks that support institutions and their authors advocating for change relating to author rights retention, copyright transfer and open licensing.

Publishers: support authors and institutions in retaining rights over their creations to foster immediate open access and reuse, respond clearly to rights retention inquiries, set zero embargoes, and use open access Creative Commons licences.