Brussels – 12 September 2018 – Following the European Parliament’s vote on copyright rules, BSA | The Software Alliance’s Director General, Policy – EMEA, Thomas Boué, stated the following:

“BSA is disappointed with the outcome of today’s vote in the European Parliament on the Text and Data Mining provisions of the Copyright Directive. The text adopted today from the Parliament sets Europe apart from all other global competitors for AI development leadership. It also moves contrary to the purposes and objectives set forth in the Artificial Intelligence Strategy published by the European Commission in April 2018. BSA will endeavor to work with all stakeholders for a broader exception to be adopted during the Trilogue negotiations. For AI to develop, and for the EU to maintain a leading role in digital innovation, there is a need to support a broad TDM exception, ensuring legal certainty and creating a supportive environment for technological innovation and growth.”