Research data licensing
Abstract
This is the slide deck of the rendez-vous de l'information scientifique organised by the University of Geneva Library and devoted to research data licensing. This short presentation defines what kind of research data are protected by copyright in Switzerland. It also provide recommendations on how to choose a Creative Commons license for data, especially in an open data perspective. Contents: Copyright in Switzerland and for research data Creative Commons license recommendation for data
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Bibliothèque Bibliothèque RESEARCH DATA LICENSING This presentation is licensed under CC BY 4.0 except for content where another author/license is mentioned. Anouk Santos 11 November 2025 DOI: 10.5281/zenodo.17570900
2 14 Three conditions must be reunited. A work is: 1. A creation of the mind, 2. Which has an individual character, 3. And is expressed in one form or another. Computer programs (software) are considered works. Photographs, even without individual character, are protected works. COPYRIGHT: WHAT IS A PROTECTED WORK? (Copyright Act, art. 2 and CCdigitallaw 2020)
3 14 Copyright does not protect facts, information, ideas, formulas, scientific measurements, etc., because these factual scientific data are not original works as defined by copyright law. These data are generated and compiled by scientific methods, but this is not something that copyright automatically rewards and protects. Copyright only protects works. THE CASE OF FACTUAL SCIENTIFIC DATA (Pantaloni 2017)
4 14 CC LICENSES ✓Compatible with data ✓Widely used within the scientific field ✓Well known (but not always fully understood) Not designed for software or computer code
5 14 BY (Attribution) : the creator of the original work must be cited SA (ShareAlike) : the work or the derivative work (adaptation) must be shared under the same license NC (NonCommercial) : the work is only available for noncommercial use ND (NoDerivatives) : modification and creation of a derivative work (adaptation) is prohibited. Creative Commons icons : https://creativecommons.org/about/downloads/ 4 ELEMENTS
Adapted from How to Attribute Creative Commons Photos by Foter, licensed under CC BY-SA 3.0 (CC0 added on top). PUBLIC DOMAIN DEDICATION CC0 You can share and modify the work with no restrictions nor obligations.
7 14 NODERIVATIVES (ND) Data licensed with a ND element can’t be: •Modified •Combined •Enriched •Remixed •Translated The ND requirement forbids the creation of derivative works. (Ball 2014 and Kreutzer 2014)
8 14 “Noncommercial use”: there is no consensus on a definition. The NC requirement in a license could prevent: •The use of data in a work for which the author receives a financial retribution (for example a published book), •Use in a course with registration fees, •Public-private partnerships. NONCOMMERCIAL (NC) Data must be allowed to be used for any purposes, even commercial ones, to be truly open and reusable. (Ball 2014 and Kreutzer 2014)
9 14 The problem: copyleft licenses are not compatible with each other The SA requirement affects the interoperability of data and increases the incompatibility of licenses. SHAREALIKE (SA) += A derivative work cannot respect both licenses (Ball 2014 and Kreutzer 2014)