The Legal Status of Research Data

Members of the KE working group on research data

Magchiel Bijsterbosch, SURF, the Netherlands

Niels Jørgen Blaabjerg, Aalborg University Library, Denmark

Mikkel Christoffersen, DEFF, Denmark

Joy Davidson, DCC, United Kingdom

Rob Grim, Tilburg University, the Netherlands

Simon Hodson, JISC, United Kingdom

Angela Holzer, DFG, Germany

Hans Pfeiffenberger, AWI, Germany

Laurents Sesink, DANS, the Netherlands

Stefan Winkler-Nees, DFG, Germany

Copenhagen, 12 June 2012

Research data from publicly funded research should be

freely accessible,

re-usable and

professionally curated

on a long-term basis.

Copenhagen, 12 June 2012

Ian-S; http://www.flickr.com/photos/ian-s/2152798588cc: by-nc-nd

Past and present activities of the working group

• Workshop Main Drivers for Successful Re-use of Research DataSeptember 2009, Berlin

• Comparative report on the legal status of research data in the four KE partner countries (published in September 2011)

• Workshop Research Data Management: Activities and Challenges14-15 November 2011, Bonn

• Report “A Surfboard for Riding the Wave” (November 2011)

Copenhagen, 12 June 2012

Legal Status of Research Data

Copenhagen, 12 June 2012

Bare facts are not subject to an IPR regime

Research data can be protected

a)by national copyright lawb)by national subsidiary legal regimesc)by the European Database Directive

Divergent legal regimes

Copenhagen, 12 June 2012

Obstacles for „Open Access“ to Research Data

•Insecurity of researchers with regard to IP rights of their data •Unclarity of IPR with regard to re-use of data•Mixed datasets (multinational, public/private-funding)

Copenhagen, 12 June 2012

Recommendations

• Codes of conduct for sharing and re-use or waivers rather than licences

• Clarification of the interests of private parties necessary to avoid monopolies

• Harmonization of European copyright law: currently difficult to allow easy contractual arrangements for multi-territorial use of data

General exemption or limitation to allow for sharing and re-use for non-commercial research would be desirable throughout Europe

Copenhagen, 12 June 2012

Thank you.

www.knowledge-exchange.info

office@knowledge-exchange.info

Dr. Angela Holzer (angela.holzer@dfg.de)