What is TDM?

Text & Data Mining (TDM) represents the next wave of innovation that is enabling European governments, researchers and small businesses to unlock the power of data. TDM generates actionable intelligence from data sets that were once too large and too volatile to analyse, and is driving revolutionary advances in data analytics, machine learning, and artificial intelligence that are helping address some of society’s most pressing challenges.

As such, Text and Data Mining is a building block for both machine and deep learning, which play a foundational role in the development of Artificial Intelligence. Without the ability of computers to access and analyse very large amounts of data, employ cognitive technologies to allow the learning of patterns, AI would simply not be possible.

TDM is now used by organizations of all sizes and in every sector of the economy to analyse enormous volumes of data, in line with EU data protection rules, and generate insights that would have been unimaginable just 10 years ago. With the current COVID pandemic, the medical world turned to TDM and AI to review massive amounts of data to advance the search for a vaccine and a cure. Librarians and teachers are using TDM to identify better ways to educate students or inform the public. Businesses are using TDM to better understand the needs of consumers of their products and services while and startups use TDM to build new tools and develop innovations that create new jobs and unlock new opportunities. And governments all over the world are turning to TDM to improve the environment, transportation systems, public services and safety.

The right exceptions to copyright to conduct Text and Data Mining are required to support the development and training of Artificial Intelligence applications.

The new TDM exception in Europe’s Copyright Directive

We successfully advocated for the adoption of a broad text and data mining exception in Europe within the 2019 Directive for Copyright in the Digital Single Market, to generate opportunities from the power of data. This new exception allows all Europeans, public researchers and commercial entities to perform text and data mining activities on materials they have lawful access to.

Articles 3 and 4 of the new copyright Directive provide much needed clarity for all entities that are at the forefront of the research and innovation ecosystem in Europe, including researchers, libraries, start-ups, SMEs and technology companies.

This new legislative framework will:

  • Enable successful research, which is often the result of effective public-private partnerships;
  • Support the development and growth of Artificial Intelligence (AI) in the European Union;
  • Promote applications of data analytics and big data and therefore unlock many new business opportunities for innovators in Europe;
  • Give Europe the tools to compete globally with countries such as the U.S, Japan, and Singapore that have all already adopted TDM-friendly copyright laws.

Articles 3 and 4 now need to be properly implemented across Europe to guarantee the European research and innovation ecosystem can realize the benefits from the data economy. EARE stands ready to work with all stakeholders at national level to ensure that Europe is at the forefront of global AI innovation.

As such, EARE has contributed to various national public consultations: