Glossary
TDM exception (text and data mining)
A statutory copyright exception, notably in the EU, permitting text and data mining of lawfully accessed works, with an opt-out available to rights holders for commercial mining. It does not cover voice or likeness rights, so it is not a substitute for a full licence.
The EU rules sit in the 2019 Copyright Directive: Article 3 covers research organizations; Article 4 covers everyone else but yields to a machine-readable opt-out by the rights holder. The UK has a narrower research-only exception, while Japan and Singapore have broader ones. EU AI rules tie training-data transparency back to these reservations.
Why it matters
Where owners have reserved their rights, commercial miners need a licence — which is the design.