Data Licensing & Agreements
Taking into account data ownership and use
When using other people's research data or models:
Existing datasets and models will almost always be covered by terms and conditions for access and re-use that cover the protection and treatment of data and related intellectual property (IP) rights. If you are using a data resource that you have not produced, even if acquired from a free and public source, you must ascertain what you are allowed to do with the data and any derived outputs. Licences typically grant permissions on condition that certain terms are met and these may affect your research plans.
Copyright notices and attribution statements
Users of other people's data and/or models should understand what requirements there are for attributing credit, e.g. including a statement in outputs that gives credit to, or attributes, the creator of the research data/model you are using.
If in doubt on what you can or cannot do with other peoples data/model you should contact your institution's Licensing Team, if available.
Taking into account data ownership and use
When sharing data/models you have generated:
Datasets/models generated during your research project should always be covered by an agreement when made available for re-use (whether with project partners during a project, with colleagues on other projects or more widely) which covers the protection and treatment of data and related intellectual property (IP) rights. NERC require retention of IPR for all data generated from its funding.
Open Government Licence
The Open Government Licence (OGL) is a simple set of terms and conditions that facilitates the re-use of a wide range of public sector information free of charge.
UK Government policy is that public sector information should be licensed for use and re-use free of charge under the OGL, with only a few prescribed exceptions. Research funded by the public purse would fall under this.
Ensuring Ts & Cs are in place for shared data:
Making data/models you have generated accessible through an established long-term data repository will ensure a mechanism is in place to include terms and conditions as part of accessing data.