Facilitate Open Science Training for European Research 
COPYRIGHT AND RE-USE OF 
RESEARCH PUBLICATIONS AND 
RESEARCH DATA 
Teresa Nobre, LLM.IP (MIPLC) 
Attorney-at-law 
Creative Commons Portugal Legal Lead 
LEGAL PROTECTION OF 
RESEARCH DATA 
AND PUBLICATIONS 
Copyright 
Database 
Right 
Privacy 
I. COPYRIGHT PROTECTION 
II. 
COPYRIGHT PROTECTION: OVERVIEW 
• Intellectual creation 
• Literary, scientific or artistic domains 
• Protects expressions, not ideas 
• Original = not copied from others 
• Merit and purpose are irrelevant 
• Necessary forms are not protected 
• Certain freedom of choice 
• Not enforceable against similar but independently 
created works 
• TBD on a case-by-case basis 
 
COPYRIGHT PROTECTION: OVERVIEW 
• Protection commences automatically upon creation of 
the work 
• No need for registration or other formalities 
• No need to be published 
COPYRIGHT PROTECTION: OVERVIEW 
• Exclusive right to use or authorize others to use literary 
or artistic works:  
 - Making a copy or downloading 
 - Translating or adapting, etc. 
• Exceptions:  
 - Private copy 
 - Citation, etc. 
• Economic rights vs. moral rights 
• Author vs. rightholder 
• Territorial right 
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_countries%27_copyright_lengths#/media/File:World_copyright_terms.svg 
COPYRIGHT PROTECTION: OVERVIEW 
COPYRIGHT PROTECTION: DATA 
• Bare facts 
• Bare items of 
information 
 
 
=  
• Separate items of data 
in certain form 
• Datasets in certain form 
• Databases in certain 
form 
= 
© 
 
 
COPYRIGHT PROTECTION: DATA 
CONTENTS 
= 
FREE  
FORM 
= 
PROTECTED 
© 
 
COPYRIGHT PROTECTION: DATA 
• Tables 
• Formulas 
• Words 
• Complete datasets 
• Photographs 
• Videos 
• Maps 
• Diagrams 
  
FORM 
= 
PROTECTED 
© 
 
COPYRIGHT PROTECTION 
• Written down in 
original wording 
• Presented in 
original manner 
• Selected from a 
larger set of data 
and processed 
• Original selection 
and arrangement 
to form a database 
  
PROTECTED 
 
 
© 
 
COPYRIGHT PROTECTION: DATA 
• Simply presenting 
a series of 
measurements in a 
table 
• Short phrases 
• Standard scientific 
terms/structures 
• Satellite photos 
 
  
NOT 
PROTECTED 
 
Even if the FORM is PROTECTED by COPYRIGHT, 
BARE FACTS can still FREELY be used, provided 
they are presented in a different (own) form 
 
EXCEPT IF 
 
The use of the BARE FACTS constitutes a 
substantial retrieval from a database protected 
by SUI GENERIS RIGHT 
 
I. 
II. SUI GENERIS RIGHT 
PROTECTION 
SUI GENERIS RIGHT PROTECTION 
OBJECT: arts. 2 and 7 Database Directive 
 
• Collection of items (figures, codes, words, descriptions, 
photographs, etc.) 
• Items must be independent: it must be possible to 
separate them without their loosing their value/meaning 
• Arranged in a systematic or methodical way 
• Individually accessible by electronic or other means 
• Qualitative and/or qualitative substantial investment in 
either the (1) obtaining, (2) verification or (3) 
presentation of the contents 
SUI GENERIS RIGHT PROTECTION 
EXCLUSIVE RIGHT: art.7 Database Directive 
 
• Right to prevent unauthorized extraction and/or re-
utilization of the whole or of a substantial part of the 
contents of the database 
• Protects the investment not the creation 
• Different from copyright 
SUI GENERIS RIGHT PROTECTION 
(OPTIONAL) EXCEPTIONS: art.9 Database Directive 
 
• Private purposes 
• (Non-commercial) Purposes of scientific research, 
provided that (a) source is indicated and (b) extent is 
justified by the purpose 
• (Non-commercial) Purposes of illustration for teaching, 
provided that (a) source is indicated and (b) extent is 
justified by the purpose 
 
REUSE OF RESEARCH DATA 
AND PUBLICATION 
I. CC COPYRIGHT LICENSES 
II. 
Open data and content can be freely used, 
modified, and shared by anyone for any 
purpose 
 
Open Data definition by Open Knowledge 
 
 
     
None 
       
Some 
        
All 
No license = all rights reserved 
©
BY  
Attribution 
NC 
NonCommercial 
SA 
ShareAlike 
ND 
NoDerivatives 
   BY 
            BY-SA 
            BY-ND 
            BY-NC 
                  BY-NC-SA 
                  BY-NC-ND 
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Three “layers” of licences 

2002: v. 1.0 
2004: v. 2.0 
2005: v. 2.5 
2007: v. 3.0 
2013: v. 4.0 



I.  
II.CC PUBLIC DOMAIN TOOLS 
Data related to published science should 
be explicitly placed in the public domain 
 
Panton Principles 
 
PUBLIC DOMAIN MARK CC0 DEDICATION 
TO THE PUBLIC DOMAIN 


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T: @tenobre 
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