Sharing data | Sharing norms
Connecting data for research, Vrije Universiteit 19.10.15
prof. dr. Mireille van Eechoud | www.ivir.nl
Institute for Information Law
Key legal issues | liabilities
 Intellectual property (e.g. copyright, database 
rights)
 Are there IP rights in datasets, descriptions / 
supporting documents? Often: yes
 Who (legally) controls such rights? Often: 
unclear
 How to exercise? Open licenses suited?
 Data protection law & privacy protection
 Covers all “personal data” (very broad)
 Key principles strongly at odds with open 
data
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Institute for Information Law
Where ‘open data’ comes from
 Early 2000’s: Budapest (2001/2), Bethesda, 
Berlin Declaration (2003)
 focus on open access to publications.
 Fueled by discontent commercial publishing
 2005 Open definition OKFN
 Late 2000’s: ‘Investing our future together’ ERA 
(2007), OECD Principles And Guidelines For 
Access To Research Data (2007); EC HLEG 
Report 'Riding the Wave’ (2010)
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Institute for Information Law
EC Recommendation on access to and 
preservation of scientific information 
(2012) ambition
… Research data that result from publicly funded 
research become publicly accessible, usable and 
re-usable through digital e-infrastructures. 
Concerns in particular in relation to privacy, trade 
secrets, national security, legitimate commercial 
interests and to intellectual property rights shall be 
duly taken into account.
Institute for Information Law
 Broaden access to data for academics, 
enabling new research / knowledge creation 
(innovation rationale)
 Achieve more efficient use of research funds 
through re-use, prevent overlap (efficiency 
rationale)
 Improve accountability / verification of research 
outcomes (academic quality rationale)
 Improve visibility / citation for ‘source’ 
academic(s) (ranking/reputation rationale)
‘Open data’ instrument to…
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Institute for Information Law
Intellectual property – open licenses
 Creative commons
 Worldwide, royalty-free, non-exclusive, 
irrevocable license
 Waive right of integrity, moral rights where 
law allows
 ‘By’: Attribution plus indication of whether 
changes made; all uses allowed
 CC0: fully, permanently, irrevocably and 
unconditionally waives, abandons, and 
surrenders all copyright and related rights
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Institute for Information Law
Data protection – EU wide law (reform near)
Regulates processing of personal data:
 All use for public & commercial research must 
comply with data proction legal norms
 Some special (more lenient) rules for research 
Any operation: e.g. 
collect, modify, use, 
disseminate, store
Information about person who 
can be identified, directly or 
indirectly (‘identifiable’, incl. 
pseudonymized data).
www.ivir.nl | Mireille.vanEechoud@uva.nl
Institute for Information Law
What is on (y)our wishlist?
 Less lofty rethorics, more actual evidence about 
what OA for data does/can accomplish (pros & 
cons)
 Get serious about personal data – esp. if 
anonymization is (really) dead
 Stop passing the IP management & liability bucket: 
more support for researchers in managing 
intellectual property
 Room for differentiated approaches
 Effective tools & support throughout data life cycle
www.ivir.nl | Mireille.vanEechoud@uva.nl 8
Institute for Information Law
Amsterdam Privacy Conference 
23-26 Oct.
See www.apc2015.net for public events
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