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Minimum Viable Skills for Legal Expert

Introduction: Open Science mission for this role

The Minimum Viable Skillset (MVS) for legal experts provides a structured understanding of the critical competencies required by professionals responsible for ensuring legal compliance within Open Science. These individuals play a key role in managing the complex legal landscapes surrounding both personal and non-personal data, safeguarding the rights of third parties while promoting openness and adherence to the FAIR principles (Findable, Accessible, Interoperable, Reusable). Legal experts must navigate the tension between the existing property-based legal framework and the openness essential to achieving Open Science objectives, particularly in areas such as Intellectual Property Rights (IPR) and data protection.

The term "Legal Expert" encompasses a variety of professionals, including Legal Consultants, Lawyers, Regulatory Affairs Managers, Data Protection Officers (DPOs), and Technology Transfer/IP Lawyers. Each role has varying degrees of legal authority, with some professionals, such as Regulatory Affairs Managers, not always licensed to provide legal advice yet having significant expertise in legal matters. A key aspect of this role is ensuring compliance with regulations such as the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR), while also facilitating open access to research materials, data reuse, and collaboration. Legal experts also assist in aligning organizations with legal standards, mitigating risks related to privacy, intellectual property, and contractual obligations.

An important responsibility of legal experts is bridging the gap between the goals of Open Science and regulatory requirements. They work closely with researchers and institutions to ensure that the use of protected materials and sensitive data complies with existing laws, while promoting openness and facilitating the lawful sharing and reuse of scientific information. Their work often includes drafting agreements, managing licensing, ensuring the preservation of protected materials, and advising on data-sharing practices.

The mission of a legal expert in Open Science is to promote openness and FAIRness in a legal system predominantly centered on exclusive property rights, while simultaneously mitigating legal risks through a proactive approach to compliance with personal and non-personal data regulations. In doing so, they contribute significantly to building a transparent and accessible research environment, which is critical for the advancement of Open Science.

Legal experts play a critical role in ensuring that research practices, particularly in the context of Open Science, comply with complex legal frameworks. Their primary responsibility is to safeguard the rights of third parties by ensuring adherence to national, regional, and international regulations governing both personal and non-personal data. Legal experts manage the tension between traditional intellectual property laws, which are often based on exclusive ownership, and the openness required to advance Open Science goals. Their expertise is essential in mitigating legal risks, ensuring data protection, and promoting openness and compliance with FAIR principles (Findable, Accessible, Interoperable, Reusable).

Associated function titles: Legal Consultant, Lawyer, Regulatory Affairs Manager, Technology Transfer/IP Lawyer, Data Protection Officer, Legal Advisor.

Essential skills and competences

  • Good understanding of OS and its practices.

  • Ability to establish the appropriate strategy, frameworks and course of actions to foster and enhance OS.

  • Expert knowledge of the FAIR principles and how to apply them, especially the one concerning (re)usability (eg copyright licensing rules and existing frameworks like the Creative Commons licenses)  

  • Ability to identify ethical issues and apply the necessary measures to address the existing and applicable ethical principles, frameworks and codes of conduct, including but not limited to the ones concerning research (eg the RRI Framework and the European Code of Conduct for Research Integrity -- ALLEA)

  • Ability to address legal issues related to personal data governance, including but not limited to the management of personal data, development and management of policies on privacy and data protection (eg consent forms, data policies, etc) and expert knowledge on the application of regulations on privacy and personal data protection

  • Ability to develop, negotiate and assess data use agreements, and expert knowledge on the regulation that commonly governs these documents

Soft/ transversal skills

  • Problem-solving

  • Effective communication

  • Critical and Analytical thinking

  • Collaboration

  • Translating needs/bridging function

  • Research skills

  • Flexibility and adaptability

  • Proactiveness and responsiveness

Background Assumptions

Main Activities

  • Promote and support open access and other OS-related legal and ethical principles

  • Monitor the regulatory landscape and national policies concerning OS (e.g. GDPR, ODD, DGA, Data Act proposal, IPR-related directives and regulations)

  • Assess and address legal risks concerning Intellectual Property Rights (e.g., Personal and Non-Personal Data Protection and Governance, Licensing and Information Security

  • Employ the existing instruments (e.g. licensing frameworks, rights retention strategies) and normative tools (e.g. copyright exceptions and limitations) to promote Open Science

  • Develops policies, contracts and other instruments necessary to the realization of the legal rules and ethical principles concerning OS

  • Advises the organization on the compatibility of local practices with the current legal framework

Contributes to Open Science Outcomes

  • The organization will be able to adopt existing licensing frameworks (e.g. Creative Commons) and enjoy the free uses allowed under the existing legal framework (e.g. copyright limitations and exceptions)

  • The organization will be equipped with policies, contracts and other instruments necessary to the realization of the legal rules and ethical principles concerning OS

Further Information - Open Science Skills Terms

OS skills terms match the essential skills in this MVS to competence definitions from relevant taxonomies. Terms are selected to add further information and to aid discovery of this MVS (an extended list is added at the foot of this document). Sources: European Skills, Competences and Occupations ontology (ESCO), ResearchComp, terms4FAIRskills, Center Scientific Collaboration and Community Engagement.

ESCO Research Skills: Manage Intellectual Property Rights; Apply Research Ethics and Scientific Integrity Principles in Research Activities; Manage Open Publications; Manage Research Data; Demonstrate Disciplinary Expertise; Speak Different Languages; Manage Personal Professional Development.

ESCO Transversal Skills: Solve Problems; Identify Problems; Show Initiative; Comply with Regulations; Negotiate Compromises; Resolve Conflicts; Show Determination; Organise Information, Objects and Resources; Approach Challenges Positively; Moderate a Discussion; Teaching and Training; Communicate with a Non-Scientific Audience; Think Critically; Think Analytically; Build Networks; Use Communication and Collaboration Software; Demonstrate Intercultural Competence; Demonstrate Trustworthiness; Think Quickly; Demonstrate Willingness to Learn; Attend to Detail; Demonstrate Curiosity; Adapt to Change; Keep an Open Mind; Cope with Stress.

ResearchComp: Strategic thinking; Systemic thinking; Apply research ethics and integrity principles; Communicate with a broad public; Analytical thinking; Cope with pressure; Plan self-organisation.

Terms4FAIRskills: Assessment on FAIR data criteria; Knowledge to contextualise FAIR principles to domain; Information security; Data policy; Ethical application of patents, licenses; Data processing; Data access risk assessment and mitigation; Data driven decision management; Research integrity, attribution, impact awareness; Research governance; Change management.

CSCCE: Strategy development; Content planning; Operational planning and implementation; Speaking and presenting; Consultation and listening; Collaboration.

Contributors

Luca Schirru, Valentina Colcelli, Sabrina Brizioli, Sara Casati, Thomas Margoni, Angus Whyte, Laurence Horton, Dominique Green, Karolina Dostatnia, Emma Lazzeri.

Link to any other MVS that this MVS is based on (from those in Skills4EOSC D2.1)

Reference sources

1 2 3 4 5

  1. A Whyte & K Ashley. Deliverable d7.1: skills landscape analysis and competence model. 2017. ↩

  2. A. Whyte, J. Vries, R. Thorat, E. Kuehn, G. Sipos, V. Cavalli, V. Kalaitzi, and K. Ashley. Deliverable d7.3: skills and capability framework. EOSCPilot, 2018. Open Science stewardship competences and capabilities table, pp. 39-40. ↩

  3. N Manola, E Lazzeri, M Barker, I Kuchma, V Gaillard, and L Stoy. Digital skills for fair and open science: report from the eosc executive board skills and training working group. 2021. URL: https://data.europa.eu/doi/10.2777/59065. ↩

  4. Y. Demchenko. Edison data science framework: part 4. data science professional profiles (dspp), release 2. 2017. URL: https://edison-project.eu/sites/edison-project.eu/files/attached_files/node-486/edison-dspp-release2-v04.pdf. ↩

  5. T. Wiktorski Y. Demchenko, A. Belloum. Edison data science framework: part 1. data science competence framework (cf-ds) release 2. 2016. URL: https://edison-project.eu/sites/edison-project.eu/files/filefield_paths/edison_cf-ds-release1-v07.pdf. ↩