Cap. 546 Art. 19Prohibition of exclusive arrangements.

(1) The re-use of documents shall be open to all potential actors in the market, even if one or more market players already exploit added-value products based on these documents. Subject to sub-article (2), contracts or other arrangements between the public sector bodies or public undertakings holding the documents and third parties shall not grant exclusive rights.

(2) However, where an exclusive right is necessary for the provision of a service in the public interest, the validity of the reason for granting such an exclusive right shall be subject to regular review, and shall, in any event, be reviewed every three years. The exclusive arrangements established after the 16 July 2019 shall be transparent and made publicly available online. This sub-article shall not apply to digitisation of cultural resources.

(3) Notwithstanding the provisions of sub-article (1), where an exclusive right relates to digitisation of cultural resources, the period of exclusivity shall in general not exceed ten years. In case where that period exceeds ten years, its duration shall be subject to review during the eleventh year and, if applicable, every seven years thereafter.

(4) Legal or practical arrangements that, without expressly granting an exclusive right, aim at, or could reasonably be expected to lead to, a restricted availability for the re-use of documents by entities other than the third party participating in the arrangement, shall be made publicly available online at least two (2) months before their coming into effect.

(5) The effect of such legal or practical arrangements on the availability of data for re-use shall be subject to regular reviews and shall, in any event, be reviewed every three (3) years. The final terms of such arrangements shall be transparent and made publicly available online.