C4C has joined the long list of signatories on a letter to the EU Commission from participants in a recent Licensing Europe stakeholder workshop on text and data mining (TDM).

The letter details “serious and deep-felt concerns “ about Working Group 4 on TDM for scientific and research purposes. Despite the workshop title, we write how participants “have been presented not with a stakeholder dialogue, but a process with an already predetermined outcome.”

Our letter tells the Commission that representatives of the European research and technology sectors will likely opt out of future meetings unless the Commission provides commitments on several points, including assurances that all evidence, opinions and solutions are considered and that no solution is ruled to be out of scope from the outset. We also ask that all the proceedings and discussions are documented and are made publicly available.