Report: Navigating Legal Uncertainty in European Museums
Digital transformation offers the cultural sector vast new opportunities, but also legal challenges – especially regarding copyright, personal data protection or managing collections online. How are European museums navigating these everyday risks?
”Navigating Uncertainty: Legal Risk Awareness and Management in European Museums” is a study by Centrum Cyfrowe commissioned by the COMMUNIA Association.
As part of our work on a Digital Knowledge Act, we have identified the fear of being sued and held liable for copyright infringement as a major barrier preventing knowledge institutions from fully using the opportunities available under the current copyright framework. Centrum Cyfrowe’s research offers concrete evidence of how the potential legal exposure to copyright claims hinders museums in fulfilling their public mission to make knowledge and culture accessible to the broadest possible audience.
Drawing on eight in-depth interviews with professionals from the sector, the study explores how European museums deal with legal risks. The focus is on copyright in everyday practices regarding collection reuse: from building online repositories to creating educational materials, or experimenting with AI tools. The study shows that museums often adopt risk-averse strategies around copyright and intellectual property. With fear of infringement limiting access and reuse, the key takeaways call for urgent harmonisation of EU copyright law, the introduction of safe harbours for museums, and collaborative frameworks to balance caution with innovation.
Further insights will follow in early 2026, when COMMUNIA will publish more research by the Institute for Information Law (IViR) exploring this issue in greater depth.
Read more and download the report on COMMUNIA’s website.