STM NEWSROOM

On 24 March 2026, the German Federal Constitutional Court ruled against the state of Baden-Württemberg and the University of Konstanz, rejecting their attempt to establish a secondary publication obligation through state and institutional statutes under Section 38(4) of the German Copyright Act (UrhG). The Court found the obligation void on competence grounds: copyright legislation is a matter…

A district Court in the Netherlands sided with the national tax authority and stated that Open Access publication costs must be charged at the higher VAT rate of 21% (rather than the lower rate of 9%, which applies to purchasing material to read). The prevalent view of national tax authorities is that the VAT regime on electronic publications…

On 26 March, the EU Commission’s publishing platform Open Research Europe officially launched at CERN, which will take over operation of the platform this autumn. Only researchers from participating countries will be eligible: Austria, France, Germany, Italy, the Netherlands, Norway, Portugal, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden, and Switzerland. All of these countries have several Transformative Agreements in place.

Following the call for evidence on the ERA Act open between 6 August and 10 September 2025, the EU Commission released a summary of stakeholders’ responses. A fragmented copyright landscape, the lack of standardised metadata and interoperable data infrastructures, inequities arising from APCs, dominance of English in scientific publishing, reliance on commercial publishers and restrictive contractual practices…

On 10 March, the European Parliament adopted its position on AI and copyright in plenary session. No further amendments were tabled following the committee vote, and the final report reflects the version previously available. The text stops short of recommending a reopening of the 2019 EU Copyright Directive, but acknowledges its ambiguous application in the AI…

IFRRO has published a comparative regional analysis of publishing markets across Asia-Pacific, covering market segmentation, revenue and growth trends, digital transformation, copyright and open access frameworks, and the evolving impact of artificial intelligence. An extended version — a 200+ page document featuring detailed analysis of 13 focus countries — will also be made available. Read…

The Publishers Association has released a detailed report on how book and journal publishers license content for AI use — finding that the AI licensing market is established and growing, with high-quality publisher content increasingly in demand to power AI innovation and scientific discovery. Key findings include: The AI licensing market has firm foundations, with…

The European Commission has adopted draft Council recommendations on science diplomacy, which will now be discussed by national delegations ahead of final adoption in May 2026. Academic publishers are recognised as non-state actors in science diplomacy — acknowledged for their expertise, international networks, and innovative capacity to open new avenues for innovation and strengthen global partnerships beyond…

STM organised a delegation of senior member representatives to meet with European Commission Executive Vice-President Henna Virkkunen, as well as with the Cabinet of Commissioner Zaharieva. The meetings provided an opportunity to present key trends, opportunities, and challenges facing the industry, and to discuss the AI-driven innovation underway across our sector.

Following the call for evidence on the ERA Act open between 6 August and 10 September 2025, the EU Commission released a summary of stakeholders’ responses. A fragmented copyright landscape, the lack of standardised metadata and interoperable data infrastructures, inequities arising from APCs, dominance of English in scientific publishing, reliance on commercial publishers and restrictive contractual practices…