New Data Governance Act Proposal
Last week, the European Commission adopted a Proposal for a Regulation of the European Parliament and of the Council on European Data Governance (Data Governance Act). It is an instrument aimed at enhancing data accessibility and building trust in data-sharing intermediaries through data sharing mechanisms.
New Data Governance Act proposal is the first of a set of measures announced in the 2020 European strategy for data. The strategy is a plan for European digital transformation over the next five years, intended to establish an uniform European way of data governance, as well as a single data market that would enable better data access for the economy, which would in turn significantly help Europe’s competitiveness. Understanding that data is an essential resource for economic growth, competitiveness, innovation, job creation and societal progress in general, the strategy is still focused on putting people first.
For that purpose, the new Data Governance Act proposal was adopted, as it is supposed to facilitate data flow and sharing between different sectors and EU Member States. The Act will presumably help users to stay in control of their data, and will support the creation of so-called European Data Spaces in crucial sectors, such as health, the environment, energy,, mobility etc. Its four main goals are:
– making public sector data available for re-use, in situations where such data is subject to rights of others;
– sharing of data among businesses, against remuneration in any form;
– allowing personal data to be used with the help of a ‘personal data-sharing intermediary’;
– allowing data use on altruistic grounds.
The Commission estimates that the new Act will increase innovations and job-creation, Europe’s competitiveness, and that it will benefit the society as a whole, bringing in solutions to challenges, such as climate change and the COVID-19 pandemic. It will be interesting to follow the reactions to the Data Governance Act and its effects.
The Proposal for Data Governance Act in full is available here.
The Grand Board of the European Union Intellectual Property Office (EUIPO) finally ruled that the figurative sign ‘COVIDIOT’ cannot be registered as an EU trademark.
The 4th Open Knowledge Day took place on Tuesday 17 October 2023, with an accompanying workshop on 18 October 2023. This year it was organised by the Open Data and Intellectual Property Institute (ODIPI) and supported by Knowledge Rights 21 (KR21).
We invite you to the fourth Open Knowledge Day and the workshop, which will take place this year within the framework of the programme and with the support of Knowledge Rights 21. The event will bring together experts from different European countries to discuss two topics: the first part will deal with the legal basis for data analytics, which is a key part of machine learning and related artificial intelligence, and the general exception for research. In the second part, open science in theory and practice will be presented both in Slovenia and in some Western Balkan countries. Representatives of research and educational institutions from Slovenia and the Western Balkan countries, as well as interested members of the public, are invited to attend.
Dr. Maja Bogataj Jančič, a renowned expert in copyright law, has joined the Berkman Klein Center for Internet & Society at Harvard University, where she will serve as an affiliate researcher for the next two years.