STM NEWSROOM

Call to action: Survey on Secondary Publication Right and research exception

The EU Commission is considering legislative changes to the research exception from copyright and the introduction of a EU-wide Secondary Publication Right (self-archiving, potentially with zero embargo and extending to the VoR). They are analysing potential economic effects of such measures on publishers, and are collecting views through a survey through 1 December. It is very…

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EU Commission launches public consultation on ERA Act

The European Commission is gathering stakeholder feedback on the upcoming European Research Area (ERA) Act, expected for Q3 2026, through a questionnaire open until 5 January 2026. Questions related to OA mandates and rights retention strategies are included under the section ‘Free circulation of scientific knowledge’, including the option ‘the applicable legal frameworks should be reviewed to improve legal…

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EU Commission’s work programme for 2026

The work programme of the EU Commission provides an overview of all that the institution will be working on in the coming year. For example, the ERA Act is included under ‘New initiatives’. Besides what was inserted in the programme, it is also interesting to note that, despite the evaluation of the Copyright Directive of 2019 being planned for next year,…

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Australian government decides against introducing a TDM exception to copyright

The Australian government decided not to proceed with a text and data mining (TDM) exception to facilitate AI training. Such a recommendation was included in an interim report by the Productivity Commission over the summer, and may still be included in the final report due in December. The Copyright & AI Reference Group (CAIRG) has also been reactivated…

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STM joins the Observatory of the EUIPO

Our application to the Observatory of the European Intellectual Property Office (EUIPO) has been accepted! STM will join a network of IP professionals and have the opportunity to participate in and contribute to the working groups on IP in the digital world, enforcement and economics and statistics.

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SAFE Research Act sparks debate over international collaboration

The SAFE Research Act (Securing American Funding and Expertise from Adversarial Research Exploitation Act of 2025) was included in the House of Representatives’ version of the Fiscal Year (FY) 2026 National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA), which passed the House last month. This legislation is one of the few pieces of legislation that must pass the US Congress…

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EU COM launches consultation on European Research Area (ERA) Act

Stakeholders are invited to respond to a questionnaire about key aspects that the ERA Act (planned Q3 2026) should cover. The most relevant section for STM is 3.2. on “Ensuring the free circulation of researchers and scientific knowledge”, which includes questions about barriers to access and re-use of scientific publications and (both legislative and non-legislative) ways to…

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STM responds to AI labelling consultation

Article 50 of the AI Act establishes obligations for transparent labelling of AI-operated systems and AI-generated content. Publishers’ use of AI in the publishing process is very likely to fall under exemptions from such obligations, but translations remain a grey area and good practices are encouraged.

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EU adopts strategy for AI in science

The EU will establish a Resource for AI in Europe (RAISE), a virtual institute/network that coordinates key elements of the strategy: talent, compute/infrastructure, data, and funding. This will be complemented by the Data Union Strategy, expected by October/November, which aims to “ensure the availability of high-quality, large-scale datasets essential for training AI models.” | Access the…

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EU launches consultation on science diplomacy

STM will make a submission, drawing also from discussions at our Annual Conference in Frankfurt this week. The deadline for submissions is 3 November. | Read more about this initiative here

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UPCOMING EVENTS

Towards the next 25 years of impact: Join the Research4Life 25th Anniversary Town Hall

12th March 2026

For 25 years, Research4Life and its partners have transformed the global research landscape by advancing access, equity, and impact for researchers and institutions worldwide. This work delivers powerful progress toward the Sustainable Development Goals and supports the STM SDG Sustainability Roadmap. Join us on 12 March at 13:00 GMT to explore how we’re advancing global...
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Accessibility in STM publishing: addressing publisher challenges

19th March 2026

Accessibility requirements are evolving, and STM publishers are working to respond within complex and fast-moving publishing environments. Legislative expectations, technical standards and operational constraints all play a role. This webinar will focus on practical accessibility challenges identified by publishers. The session will explore common pain points and consider how these issues can be approached in...
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