Licences

• Creative Commons (CC)

  Creative Commons (CC) licences are fast becoming the most used and recognised standards for providing access to data. They permit the free-of-charge copying, reuse, distribution and, in some cases, modification of the creator's work without having to obtain permission each time.

  The benefits of using standard licences include:

  • the ease of use of the licences
  • widespread adoption
  • familiarity
  • flexibility
  • availability in human-readable or machine-readable forms.

  CC Zero

  CC0 was created to facilitate the release of content, data, datasets and databases into the public domain. Where this is not possible, a CC0 Licence provides the means for the rights holder to provide an irrevocable, royalty-free and unconditional licence.

• Open Data Commons

  Open Data Commons has produced three licences for datasets:

  • Public Domain Dedication and Licence, which puts all your material in the public domain.
  • Attribution Licence, where re-users must attribute any public use of the database in the manner specified in the licence.
  • Open Database Licence, requires re-users of your data to share back changes.

• Open Government Licence

  The Open Government Licence facilitates the reuse of government and other public sector information. It replaces the "Click Use" licence previously used to provide access to Crown Copyright materials. It is available in human- or machine-readable formats, but it should be noted that it does not permit copying of logos, registered trademarks and other intellectual property such as patents.

  Additional guidance on how to license data is provided by the Digital Curation Centre.