Sharing Research Data, but How? An Overview of Licensing Options
Licensing Research Data: Navigating the Options
CC BY, GPL or ODbL – anyone sharing research data should choose the appropriate licence. This overview explains which models are suitable for publications, software and databases, and how researchers can publish their work both legally and visibly.
Science depends on the ability to share and reuse research data. But how can researchers ensure that their data is published in a legally compliant way – and that others clearly understand what is permitted? A new guidance document published by Kehl University of Applied Sciences, prepared in collaboration with Maucher Jenkins, provides practical orientation for selecting the appropriate licence.
Why licences matter
Researchers who publish data usually want to facilitate reuse while at the same time defining certain conditions, such as attribution requirements or restrictions on commercial use. Without an explicit licence, the default rule is “all rights reserved”, which may create uncertainty and prevent reuse, particularly in open-access contexts.
When choosing a suitable licence, it is helpful to distinguish between three key categories:
- Publications and content
- Software
- Databases
Publications and content: Creative Commons
For texts, images, videos or research data that are not software or databases, Creative Commons (CC) licences are widely used. They are internationally recognised, easy to understand and machine-readable.
Key variants include:
- CC0: Waiver of all rights; data may be used freely without restriction.
- CC BY: Free reuse permitted with attribution; recommended by the European Commission for research data.
- CC BY-SA: Attribution plus share-alike requirement; ensures openness for future reuse.
- CC BY-NC: Non-commercial use only; suitable where commercial exploitation is to be negotiated separately.
Licences containing the ND (No Derivatives) restriction are generally less suitable, as they may even prohibit translations and can therefore hinder scientific exchange.
Which licence fits which purpose?
- Open sharing without restrictions → CC0 or CC BY
- Open sharing with controlled redistribution → CC BY-SA
- Excluding commercial use → CC BY-NC
Software: Open-source licensing
For software, a distinction is typically made between permissive licences (few restrictions) and copyleft licences (derivative works must be distributed under the same terms).
Important examples:
- MIT License: Very short and permissive; only attribution required.
- Apache License 2.0: Similar to MIT but includes a patent licence, reducing legal risks for users.
- GNU General Public License (GPL): Copyleft licence requiring modified versions to be released under the same licence, including source code.
Which licence fits which purpose?
- Broad and also commercial use → MIT or Apache
- Open sharing while preventing proprietary derivatives → GPL
Databases: Open Data Commons
Databases may also be protected and require clear licensing. The Open Knowledge Foundation provides established standard licences, including:
- ODC-By (Attribution License): Allows copying, distribution and commercial use with attribution.
- ODbL (Open Database License): Similar to ODC-By but includes a share-alike requirement for derived databases.
Which licence fits which purpose?
- Open sharing, including commercial use → ODC-By
- Open sharing with redistribution conditions → ODbL
Conclusion
Choosing the right licence makes a significant difference: it provides legal certainty, increases visibility and facilitates reuse. Researchers should therefore consider early on which conditions should apply to the use of their data and rely on established licensing standards.
The full guidance document “Licensing Research Data” is available here.
