The document discusses principles of open data sharing and legal interoperability of research data. It provides summaries of the GEO Data Sharing Principles from 2005 and a proposed updated version from 2015. The principles advocate sharing data as open data by default without charge or reuse restrictions. Exceptions can be made for reasons of national security, endangered species protection, or other restrictions allowed by law. The document also summarizes proposed principles from RDA/CODATA on facilitating lawful access to research data while balancing various legal interests through transparent communication of rights.

1. Willi Egloff & Donat Agosti
Plazi, Bern
(http://plazi.org)
Globis-B Workshop
Leipzig, 29.2./2.3.2016
Data Sharing Principles
and Legal Interoperability

2. • Full and open exchange of data, metadata and products
shared within GEOSS, recognizing relevant international
instruments and national policies and legislation;
• All shared data, metadata and products will be made
available with minimum time delay and at minimum cost;
• All shared data, metadata and products being free of charge
or no more than cost of reproduction will be encouraged for
research and education.
GEO Data Sharing Principles

3. • Data, metadata and products will be shared as Open Data by
default, by making them available as part of Data-CORE
without charge or restrictions on reuse;
• Where international instruments, national policies or
legislation preclude the sharing of data as Open Data, data
should be made available with minimal restrictions on use and
at no more than the cost of reproduction and distribution;
• Data, products and metadata will be made available with
minimum time delay.
GEO Data Sharing Principles
Post-2015

4. 2005:
Full and open exchange of data, metadata and products shared
within GEOSS, recognizing relevant international
instruments and national policies and legislation;
2015:
Where international instruments, national policies or legislation
preclude the sharing of data as Open Data,…
GEO Data Sharing Principles

5. Recognizing relevant international instruments and national
policies and legislation refers to
• National security or public order laws
• Protection of endangered species
• Protection of cultural and genetic resources
• Copyright and other intellectual property laws
• EU-database right
• Protection of personal privacy
• Time embargoes on the release of research data
„preclude the sharing of data“

6. Restrictions based on public interests:
• National security or public order laws
• Protection of endangered species
• Protection of cultural and genetic resources
International instruments, national policies and legislation restrict
the transfer of data
„preclude the sharing of data“

7. Restrictions based on private interests:
• Copyright and other intellectual property laws
• EU-database right
• Protection of personal privacy
• Time embargoes on the release of research data
Individuals, organisations etc. restrict the transfer of data, but ...
„preclude the sharing of data“

8. Copyright protects works, not data
No copyright protection by individual attribution (©-sign, CC-
license etc.)
Database right protects (certain!) databases, not data
No database protection by individual attribution
EBV indicators are mainly data, but neither works nor databases
(Patterson et al., 2014)
Restrictions based on private interests
are often lacking legal grounds

9. Data are freely and openly accessible and reusable, except for
sensitive data
Category of sensitive data is limited to
• Data whose free accessibility could endanger certain aspects
of biodiversity conservation;
• Data that are qualified as confidential by the competent
authority;
• Data with time embargo (max. 6 months).
(No assertion of intellectual property rights possible!)
(EU BON Data Sharing Agreement, 2014)
EU BON Data Sharing Agreement (2014)

10. Principles and guidelines for implementation, elaborated by a
RDA/CODATA Interest Group, reviewed by experts from both
organisations:
• Refers to science and humanities
• Draft to be approved by the 7th RDA-Plenary (March 2016)
• Beta testing by research data groups in April – July
• Final adoption by the 8th RDA-Plenary (September 2016)
(RDA/CODATA Legal Interoperability IG)
RDA/CODATA: Principles on the Legal
Interoperability of Research Data

11. Legal interoperability occurs among multiple datasets when:
• Use conditions are determinable for each of the datasets
• Legal use conditions allow creation and use of combined or
derivative products
• Users may legally access and use each dataset without
seeking authorisation on a case-by-case basis.
RDA/CODATA: Principles on the Legal
Interoperability of Research Data

12. 6 principles:
1. Facilitate the lawful access to and reuse of research data
2. Determine the rights to and responsibilities for the data
3. Balance the legal interests
4. State the rights transparently and clearly
5. Promote the harmonisation of rights to research data
6. Provide proper attribution to the data originator(s) and rights
holder(s)
RDA/CODATA: Principles on the Legal
Interoperability of Research Data

13. Principle 1: Facilitate the lawful access to and reuse of
research data
Guidelines for implementation:
• Designation of research datasets to the public domain by the
rights holder(s) as best practice
• Use of common-use-licenses with „some rights reserved“ is
not recommended (e.g. CC-BY-NC)
• Equal availability to all users, including the most
disadvantaged ones
RDA/CODATA: Principles on the Legal
Interoperability of Research Data

14. Principle 3: balance the legal interests
Guidelines for implementation:
• Right holder(s) should not assert intellectual property rights in
publicly-funded research data
• Governments and publicly funded research institutions need to
justify any legally-imposed restrictions on research data
• Policymakers should consider public interests in light of open
access to knowledge
• Rights holder(s) of research data sources should reduce time
embargoes to the minimum necessary
• Right holder(s) should avoid individual contracts or agreements that
restrict access to and reuse of data.
RDA/CODATA: Principles on the Legal
Interoperability of Research Data

15. • Data, metadata and products will be shared as Open Data by
default, by making them available as part of Data-CORE
without charge or restrictions on reuse
• Where international instruments, national policies or
legislation preclude the sharing of data as Open Data, data
should be made available with minimal restrictions on use
and at no more than the cost of reproduction and distribution
• Data, products and metadata will be made available with
minimum time delay
GEO Data Sharing Principles Post-2015

16. • Essential biodiversity variables should be shared as Open
Data, making them available as part of Data-CORE without
charge or restrictions on reuse
• Exceptions should be limited to sensitive data:
• Data whose free accessibility could endanger certain aspects of
biodiversity conservation
• Data that are qualified as confidential by the competent
authority
• Right holder(s) of research data (if any) should dedicate them
to the public domain (bei CC0-waiver, CC-BY-License or any
similar instrument)
• Data, products and metadata should be made available with
minimum time delay
GEO Data Sharing Principles and EBV

17. Willi Egloff (egloff@plazi.org)
Donat Agosti (agosti@plazi.org)
Thank you for your
attention!