We are excited to introduce to you the newest addition to the CC Chapter Network: CC Austria! In July, the CC Austria Chapter was founded (via video conference due to COVID-19). The core group of CC Austria members have been dealing with copyright matters in Austria for years; submitting statements on reforms of the Austrian copyright law and advising on the use of CC licenses. In 2015, they hosted a German-translation hackathon for the CC 4.0 License Suite in Vienna.

CC Austria, supported by Chapter Lead Alexander Baratsits and Representative to the CC Global Network Roland Alton-Scheidl, will continue to address core issue areas through a variety of activities. CC Austria has already submitted a statement as part of the consultation process led by the Austrian Ministry of Justice on the implementation of the Directive on Copyright in the Digital Single Market. The Ministry of Justice’s initial draft addresses the issues of text and data mining and offers exceptions for digital uses in teaching and learning. Unsurprisingly, the Ministry of Justice has adopted a rights holder-friendly position. For example, the draft provides remuneration for text and data mining for scientific purposes and the priority of licenses for the educational exception. CC Austria has submitted alternative proposals and intends to intensify the public debate on this issue in the coming months.

Join us!

We are looking forward to branching out further in Austria and encourage interested people to join us! You can find information on the new CC Austria Chapter website! Contact us directly at team@creativecommons.at or legal@creativecommons.at, engage with us on Twitter, or visit our public fairchat channel, which you can also just subscribe to as a mailing list. Chances are high that you meet one of us in person at the monthly Netzpolitischer Abend!