SPARC Europe, a leading advocate for open scholarship, has announced the completion of a comprehensive study on the landscape of non-legislative policy practices related to authors' rights and licensing in Europe. The report, titled "Opening Knowledge: Retaining Rights and Licensing in Europe 2023," is the result of research conducted by Project Retain as part of the Knowledge Rights 21 program.
The report highlights the progress made in institutional rights retention policies across Europe and explores various open access rights retention policies and options in different contexts. These policies have gained significant momentum to meet the growing demand for compliance with national and funder requirements, ensuring that intellectual property (IP) is retained for open access publication. The study recognizes the diverse range of stakeholders involved in enabling access to research publications and their reuse, emphasizing the importance of dialogue to address concerns, misconceptions, and disagreements.
As part of its conclusions, the report offers a set of recommendations for different stakeholders: Institutional policymakers are encouraged to enhance existing policies by incorporating elements that support rights retention in various aspects; Funders and legislators are urged to design policies that accommodate different contexts, while adhering to common frameworks that empower institutions and authors to advocate for changes related to author rights retention, copyright transfer, and open licensing; and Publishers are called upon to assist authors and institutions in retaining sufficient rights over their creations for immediate open access and reuse, respond clearly to inquiries regarding rights retention, set zero embargoes, and utilize open access Creative Commons licenses.
SPARC Europe aims to raise awareness around this critical topic and plans to organize events in the coming autumn. Interested individuals and organizations are invited to stay updated by visiting the Retain webpage for further information.
The report and the separately published study data set are now available for reading, providing valuable insights into the current landscape of rights retention and open licensing in Europe. Researchers, authors, institutions, and policymakers are encouraged to explore the findings and engage in discussions surrounding these important issues.
By promoting rights retention and open licensing, SPARC Europe seeks to advance the principles of open scholarship and foster a more inclusive and accessible research ecosystem.
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