BRUSSELS – November 25, 2020 – BSA offered the following statement on today’s publication of the European Commission’s Data Governance Act. The Act is a direct continuation of Europe’s 2019 Open Data Directive, as it seeks to make available additional categories of public sector data.

"BSA is pleased to see EU efforts to foster increased collaboration and reuse of public sector data. Data is an increasingly important asset that can unlock opportunities that fuel job growth and enable innovation across every sector of the economy. Facilitating data sharing will bring significant benefits to European businesses, the public sector, and society more broadly,” said Thomas Boué, Director General, Policy – EMEA at BSA | The Software Alliance.

“Interestingly, the Data Governance Act seems to suggest that the Commission will seek to determine Intellectual Property Rights adequacy decisions, similar to what is being done today in the data-protection world. While this is a significant endeavor, the task of the Commission may be facilitated by the fact that there are already a number of long-standing international agreements on intellectual property (IP), such as the Berne Convention or the WTO’s TRIPs Agreement, that bring together many like-minded countries when it comes to IP protection,” Boué added. “BSA supports efforts that enhance the collective benefits of data by advancing responsible policies that facilitate greater sharing, collaboration, and experimentation with data resources while protecting privacy and intellectual property rights.”

BSA recently published an Open Data Agenda that includes recommendations to make it easier for organizations to share data voluntarily, broaden access to high-value government data, and promote the development and use of privacy-enhancing technologies. Learn more here.