Licences must not restrict the use of AI to support equitable access to information

IReL endorses the ICOLC Statement on AI in Licensing

IReL, the Irish Research e-Library, has endorsed the ICOLC Statement on Artificial Intelligence (AI) in Licensing, along with a growing number of research libraries and licensing consortia worldwide.  

The ICOLC statement has been developed in response to concerns that new license language defining rights and restrictions related to AI being introduced by electronic information vendors undermines both the rights of users and digital transformation in research institutions. 

IReL is committed to maintaining the rights of our users and the values of members in our agreements with vendors. IReL therefore endorses the following principles with regard to AI clauses: 

  • AI clauses will permit the use of AI for any and all legal purposes that support non-commercial research, teaching, learning, and equitable access to information. 
  • Multi-year licenses that include AI clauses will formally establish opportunities for the revision and/or updating of language related to AI during the term of the agreement to reflect legal or technological developments. 
  • AI clauses will not restrict user actions in ways that are fundamentally unenforceable. 
  • AI clauses will in no way prevent authorized users from making licensed content fully accessible to other authorized users in any legal manner.   
  • AI clauses will not be introduced into a negotiation in a way that limits a consortium’s opportunity to fully review the clauses in accordance with the consortium’s regular review procedure. 
  • AI clauses will not introduce new liability clauses beyond the scope of what has previously been agreed upon, especially for actions of authorized users. 

 ICOLC Statement on AI in Licensing: https://icolc.net/statements/icolc-statement-ai-licensing  

About ICOLC: the International Coalition of Library Consortia (ICOLC) is a professional organization of approximately 200 library consortia from around the world. ICOLC serves consortia staff by providing professional development, information and expertise sharing, and peer benchmarking with like-minded organizations. More information about ICOLC can be found at http://www.icolc.net.