Open Data Licenses¶
What is Open Data and how is it licensed?¶
Open Data can be summed up in the statement that: “Open means anyone can freely access, use, modify, and share for any purpose (subject, at most, to requirements that preserve provenance and openness).”
Put most succinctly: “Open data and content can be freely used, modified, and shared by anyone for any purpose”
Read the full Open Definition here
Copyright and Licenses¶
Copyright is a form of intellectual property. It will affect you when you publish or share your own work, or when you cite or re-use the work of others, including modified or derivative versions. In brief:
- Copyright applies to all "intellectual creations with an individual character" (Swiss CopA)
- All works are protected as soon as they are created
- There are exceptions to copyright, e.g. quotations or private use
- While there is no globally binding law, mutual recognition of minimum standards exist between countries
Read more from the source Lib4RI: Copyright and CC licenses
Copyright grants the author of a work the recognition of their authorship as well as the exclusive right to decide on whether, when and where their work shall be published.
Question: How can the work be shared and reused while still ensuring that authors are recognised in terms of copyright?
Answer: Through applying the right licenses.
How do Open Data licenses help?¶
Licensing is important because it reduces uncertainty. Without a license you don’t know how to answer the following questions:
- When are you allowed to use this data?
- Are you allowed to give the data to others?
- Can you distribute your own changes to the data?
Licenses deliver clarity and simplicity and help to ensure interoperability. People can know at a glance, and without having to go through a whole lot of legal paragraphs, what they are allowed to do.
Licensing of Empa software¶
If you wish to distribute software developed at Empa to third parties, there are various licensing options. Check the page of the Empa Technology Tranfer group for more information.
Creative Commons (CC) Licenses¶
Creative Commons licenses give everyone from individual creators to large institutions a standardized way to grant the public permission to use their creative work under copyright law.
The presence of a Creative Commons license on a copyrighted work answers the question, What can I do with this work?
How to get a CC License¶
Use Creative Commons tools to help share your work: CC chooser tool
The CC chooser helps you determine which Creative Commons License is right for you in a few easy steps. If you are new to Creative Commons, you may also want to read licensing considerations below before you get started with the chooser. There are six different license types, look at the webpage here.
Check also the lib4RI: CC licenses for more detailed information.