Copyright (official)
Across the EU, as in most world jurisdictions, certain uses of copyright protected works take place on the basis of exemptions and limitations to copyright, which are contemplated in law in response to the inability of the licencing markets to deliver contractual solutions (market failure) or to support public policy objectives. In these cases, a defined group of users does not have to ask for the authorisation of right holders and enter into licencing agreements to carry out certain activities (for example, cultural heritage institutions making copies for preservation purposes). In some cases, exceptions are linked to the existence of licensing schemes, in the sense that if a license agreement is in place, certain exceptions might not apply. Given the current framework in the EU, the existence and scope of exceptions to copyright varies in different Member States. Whilst this can have a little relevance for the DSM in certain cases (e.g. exceptions for broadcasting in hospitals and prisons), differences in the way Member States implement exceptions can be problematic for activities where the cross-border aspects or the European significance of a certain activity is relevant and growing in importance, for instance in the area of education and research (for example a recent study identified 253 cross-border higher education programmes operating in the EU).
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