The Role of License Terms re Utilization of Public Sector Information
The role of understanding and management of intangibles is becoming an ever more important contributor to worth. Intellectual property rights belong to matters that have increasing influence on the distribution of prosperity. The level of intellectual property rights is not independent of the choice of business models and ways to earn. When we use the work of others as part of our own work, we should respect the rights of others. Digital sources often use licensing to grant specified rights regarding e.g. access and use of the licensed content. The license terms of privately-owned rights, for which the owner can be identified, could be considered negotiable in many cases, at least in theory. However, license terms relating to a work for which the license terms can unilaterally be accepted by any contributor simply by consuming certain rights can generally be considered more difficult or even impossible to change, especially if the right holders cannot be identified and the license does not include any possibility for deviation. Terms that restrict the creation of income from a solution can suppress the opportunities re certain income models and consequently increase incentives to gain the income from other sources such as adverts, subsidies or related services. License terms can sometimes become a limiting factor for development, if capturing income from the efforts spent becomes difficult enough. In EU, Directive 2019/1024/EU includes recommendations for public sector organizations re open data and the re-use of information they share. 2011/833/EU is the Commission Decision on the reuse of commission documents. By setting rules on the availability and utilization of public sector information we also shape our business environment. One of today’s trends is digitalization in the services industry, and license terms may have impact on that development too. The outcome may be very different if proper references to sources used are claimed than if the generation of income limited by license terms. The rights or conditions can be an enabler, or they can form a barrier. Not having possibility to generate certain types of income from privately produced solutions or compilations, if public sector information is used as part of the solution, can in some cases become a restriction of rights and a burden. One may also pose questions such as: To what extent should any organization that is external to public governance be involved in designing rules that are used with regard to dissemination of public sector information? Does the usage of licenses that are created by an organization external to public governance ensure adequate understanding and structure behind the rules that are adopted by public organizations? Is the situation adequately constructive to all participants in the market in cases where the rules that govern the usage of public sector information are designed by an organization that represents one development-path of license terms? Any licenses, also open licenses, can seem difficult to grasp, which can lead to overcautiousness, breaches, negligence or diversity in e.g. practices and sanctions. We are extremely privileged to have access to an encompassing set of reliable public sector information. That information may be an important source especially for small operators of the market, and it would be important to ensure that also these smaller operators are able to grasp benefits from the resources available. Johanna Sandman 23.3.2020
© Johanna Sandman 2013-2023
The Role of License Terms re Utilization of
Public Sector Information
The role of understanding and management of intangibles is becoming an ever more important contributor to worth. Intellectual property rights belong to matters that have increasing influence on the distribution of prosperity. The level of intellectual property rights is not independent of the choice of business models and ways to earn. When we use the work of others as part of our own work, we should respect the rights of others. Digital sources often use licensing to grant specified rights regarding e.g. access and use of the licensed content. The license terms of privately-owned rights, for which the owner can be identified, could be considered negotiable in many cases, at least in theory. However, license terms relating to a work for which the license terms can unilaterally be accepted by any contributor simply by consuming certain rights can generally be considered more difficult or even impossible to change, especially if the right holders cannot be identified and the license does not include any possibility for deviation. Terms that restrict the creation of income from a solution can suppress the opportunities re certain income models and consequently increase incentives to gain the income from other sources such as adverts, subsidies or related services. License terms can sometimes become a limiting factor for development, if capturing income from the efforts spent becomes difficult enough. In EU, Directive 2019/1024/EU includes recommendations for public sector organizations re open data and the re-use of information they share. 2011/833/EU is the Commission Decision on the reuse of commission documents. By setting rules on the availability and utilization of public sector information we also shape our business environment. One of today’s trends is digitalization in the services industry, and license terms may have impact on that development too. The outcome may be very different if proper references to sources used are claimed than if the generation of income limited by license terms. The rights or conditions can be an enabler, or they can form a barrier. Not having possibility to generate certain types of income from privately produced solutions or compilations, if public sector information is used as part of the solution, can in some cases become a restriction of rights and a burden. One may also pose questions such as: To what extent should any organization that is external to public governance be involved in designing rules that are used with regard to dissemination of public sector information? Does the usage of licenses that are created by an organization external to public governance ensure adequate understanding and structure behind the rules that are adopted by public organizations? Is the situation adequately constructive to all participants in the market in cases where the rules that govern the usage of public sector information are designed by an organization that represents one development-path of license terms? Any licenses, also open licenses, can seem difficult to grasp, which can lead to overcautiousness, breaches, negligence or diversity in e.g. practices and sanctions. We are extremely privileged to have access to an encompassing set of reliable public sector information. That information may be an important source especially for small operators of the market, and it would be important to ensure that also these smaller operators are able to grasp benefits from the resources available. Johanna Sandman 23.3.2020
