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Text and data mining (TDM) is automated analysis of digital text and data to generate information, such as patterns, trends, and correlations. That is the definition in Article 2(2) of the EU’s Directive (EU) 2019/790; it is a legal definition for that Directive, not a universal technical standard.
What does text and data mining mean?
The Directive defines TDM as “any automated analytical technique aimed at analysing text and data in digital form in order to generate information which includes but is not limited to patterns, trends and correlations.” In plain language, the definition has three parts:
- Automated analysis: a computational technique processes material; simply reading or manually sorting it is not, by itself, the automated analysis described here.
- Digital inputs: the material is text and data in digital form. The Directive’s recitals describe relevant digital information broadly, including sounds and images as well as text and other data.
- Information as an output: the analysis generates information. Patterns, trends, and correlations are examples, not an exhaustive list.
The European Commission uses the same basic formulation in its FAQ on AI and copyright compliance.
How is text mining different from data mining?
“Text mining” is often used as shorthand, but the EU legal term is “text and data mining.” The phrase reflects the range of digital material that can be analysed: text is included, but so are other forms of data and, in the Directive’s broader context, sounds and images. The defining idea is the automated analysis and the information it produces, rather than a requirement that the input be text alone.
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The wording also does not prescribe a particular algorithm, software, or output format. A technique falls within the definition’s description when it automates analysis of digital text and data to generate information; whether a specific activity meets the legal definition depends on the facts and applicable law.
Does the definition mean text and data mining is permitted?
No. Whether an activity fits the definition and whether it is legally permitted are separate questions. The Directive’s recitals explain that some mining may involve facts or data not protected by copyright, while other activities can involve reproductions of protected works or extraction from protected databases.
Articles 3 and 4 set out distinct EU copyright exceptions, each with conditions. Article 3 concerns specified reproductions and extractions by research organisations and cultural heritage institutions for scientific research, involving works or other subject matter to which they have lawful access. Article 4 provides a separate exception for TDM, also subject to conditions that include lawful access and the possibility for rights holders to reserve their rights in the prescribed manner.
The European Commission discusses rights reservations in connection with AI training and obligations for general-purpose AI model providers under the EU AI Act. These are EU-level rules and context; the definition alone does not resolve whether an individual use is lawful, and rules outside the EU may differ.
Independent reader supportYour contribution helps us test, update, and keep practical guides available for everyone.Why the phrase can have different scopes
The 2019 Directive supplies a statutory definition for its own purposes. An earlier EU study, published in 2014, recorded that there was not then a coined general definition of data-mining activities. That historical observation does not mean the current Directive lacks a definition; it means the legal wording should be read within its stated EU copyright context.
For the statutory text and its surrounding provisions, see Directive (EU) 2019/790, particularly Article 2(2), recitals 8–9, and Articles 3–4. The Commission’s TDM FAQ explains its relevance to AI and copyright compliance. The 2014 historical study is listed by the Publications Office of the European Union.
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