Free tools Windows power users keep installed
One-click scans. No signup required.
Text and data mining (TDM) is an automated way to analyse digital text and data to generate information such as patterns, trends and correlations. That is the definition in Article 2(2) of the European Union’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?
Article 2(2) of Directive (EU) 2019/790 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.” Read the Directive on EUR-Lex.
| # | Preview | Product | Price | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 |
|
Data Mining: The Textbook | $67.68 | Buy on Amazon |
| 2 |
|
Text Mining with R: A Tidy Approach | $18.12 | Buy on Amazon |
| 3 |
|
Probability and Statistics for Machine Learning: A Textbook | $59.44 | Buy on Amazon |
| 4 |
|
The Dangerous Art of Text Mining | $34.99 | Buy on Amazon |
| 5 |
|
Applied Text Mining | $89.99 | Buy on Amazon |
As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases.
In plain language, the definition has three parts:
- Automated analysis: a computational technique analyses material rather than a person simply reading or manually sorting it.
- Digital material: the inputs are text and data in digital form. The Directive’s recitals describe relevant digital information broadly, including sounds and images.
- Generated information: the analysis produces information. Patterns, trends and correlations are examples, not a complete list of possible results.
How is text mining different from data mining?
“Text mining” is often used as shorthand, while the EU copyright Directive uses the phrase “text and data mining.” The Directive’s formulation encompasses automated analysis of digital text and data, and its recitals refer to digital information that can include sound and images as well. The terms may be used differently across technical fields, so the EU legal definition should not be treated as a universal glossary entry.
What’s actually slowing this PC down?
Pick the symptom - the matching free tool is one click away.
Does the definition mean a mining activity is legal?
No. The definition describes what TDM is; it does not by itself grant permission to access, copy or extract particular material. The Directive distinguishes material that is not protected by copyright from mining that may involve reproducing protected works or extracting material from protected databases. Whether a specific activity is permitted depends on the applicable rules and circumstances.
#1 Best Overall
EU exceptions and conditions
Articles 3 and 4 establish separate EU exceptions. 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, subject to conditions that include lawful access and the possibility that rights holders reserve their rights in the prescribed manner. The Directive sets out these provisions in Articles 3 and 4.
How this relates to AI training
The European Commission discusses TDM, rights reservations and AI training in its FAQ on stakeholder consultation on AI and copyright compliance. The Commission also notes the relevance of rights reservations to obligations for providers of general-purpose AI models under the EU AI Act. This is EU-level context, not a conclusion about the lawfulness of every training activity or a rule that applies everywhere.
Rank #2
Why the phrase can have more than one meaning
The 2014 EU study on the legal framework of TDM recorded that there was not then a coined general definition of data-mining activities. That is historical context: the 2019 Directive subsequently supplied a statutory definition for its own purposes. The study’s publication record is available from the Publications Office of the European Union.
Quick Recap
Best Value
Rank #4
Product prices and availability are accurate as of the date/time indicated and are subject to change. Any price and availability information displayed on Amazon at the time of purchase will apply.
