The Hague Declaration on Knowledge Discovery in the Digital Age

Acknowledging the vast economic and societal benefits of knowledge discovery in the digital age, the signatories of the Declaration agreed on the following principles:

“1. Intellectual property was not designed to regulate the free flow of facts, data and ideas, but has as a key objective the promotion of research activity;

2. People should have the freedom to analyse and pursue intellectual curiosity without fear of monitoring or repercussions;

3. Licenses and contract terms should not restrict individuals from using facts, data and ideas;

4. Ethics around the use of content mining techniques will need to continue to evolve in response to changing technology;

5. Innovation and commercial research based on the use of facts, data, and ideas should not be restricted by intellectual property law.”