Posted by : Peter Wienand
| Date posted : 31/01/2012
Among the proposed changes to the EU Directive on re-use of public sector information (Directive 2003/98/EC – the "PSI Directive") is the removal from cultural institutions of the exemptions which they have enjoyed since the Directive was adopted in 2003. For a broader overview of open data initiatives in the UK and EU, see Farrer & Co Briefing: UK and EU open data initiatives. However, perhaps the key consequence of this proposal for museums, as well as libraries and archives, is the loss of the ability to offer exclusive licences to their content. This would also apply to wholly-owned trading subsidiaries.