Estonia: Signing of Estonian law implementing EU DSM directive, including copyright exceptions

The Copyright Act amending the law for the implementation of the EU DSM Directive was signed by the Estonian president on 20 december 2021. The reformed Directive includes several exceptions from copyright protection. Firstly, it provides for an exception to the requirement for rightholders' prior authorisation for content used for text and data mining (i.e. data analytics and artificial intelligence development), unless stated otherwise in an appropriate manner by the author. Furthermore, it provides for the free use of content for scientific or educational purposes, also covering uses of digital works. Finally, it includes a copyright exception for the preservation of cultural heritage.