Exception for out-of-commerce works (Article 50e of the Copyright and Related Rights Act)

Public libraries, archives, museums and other public institutions may make works that are no longer available for sale or through customary commercial channels available to the public and preserve them in their collections. These institutions may also digitize such works and publish them on their websites, provided that this is not done for profit-making purposes. At least six months before the publication, the institution must submit information about the work and notify EUIPO (European Union Intellectual Property Office) via its online portal. The submission must also include information about the author’s right to opt out, as authors or rightholders may exclude their works from use at any time. Institutions may not make the work available if a representative collective management organization is active in the field of out-of-commerce works. In such cases, the institution must first obtain authorization from that organization.

Example: A library wishes to digitize and make available on its website old magazines that have long been out of print. Six months before publication, it submits the relevant information about the magazines to the EUIPO portal. If there is no collective management organization representing the authors of these works, and no author has objected to their publication, the library may digitize and make them freely accessible on its website or in its digital repository. The author retains the right to request removal of the work at any time.