SOLUTIONS
We teach, we learn, we create and exchange information for the benefit of the European society. We want a copyright framework that is flexible enough to fit the needs of modern education. Education that spans the lives of learners and takes place in a variety of formal and informal settings, online as well as offline.
We want a framework that is transparent and gives certainty to educators and learners. One that allows us to easily understand what we can and cannot do.
We want an education exception that is mandatory across Europe, and cannot be switched off by copyright owners.
We need an education exception that:
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Allows educators and learners to exchange materials and work in educational activities across the European Union, regardless of physical borders.
Educators should not need to be lawyers to understand what they can and cannot do. They should be able to rely on the same exception everywhere in the EU.
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An exception is not a free pass to use copyrighted content in ways that cause unjustified harm to the copyright owners. Uses made under an education exception have to be fair (e.g. use image in homework), thus many countries allow them for free.
Currently, 17 countries of the EU have education exceptions that are completely or largely unremunerated. We believe every country should be free to decide whether to pay for such fair uses, or not. The EU should not oblige payment.
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Works the same way in every country of the European Union, and cannot be switched off by copyright owners.
Educators and learners should not be forced to buy licenses. They should be able to always rely on the exception that grants them minimum rights to use content to teach and learn. Those minimum rights should never be replaced by licenses or overridden by contracts.