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Title: An analysis and metric of reusable data licensing practices for biomedical resources

Journal Article · · PLoS ONE
ORCiD logo [1]; ORCiD logo [2]; ORCiD logo [3]; ORCiD logo [4];  [2];  [5];  [6]
  1. Lawrence Berkeley National Lab. (LBNL), Berkeley, CA (United States)
  2. Oregon Health & Science Univ., Portland, OR (United States)
  3. Oregon State Univ., Corvallis, OR (United States)
  4. Open Knowledge International, London (United Kingdom)
  5. Oregon State Univ., Corvallis, OR (United States); Oregon Health & Science Univ., Portland, OR (United States)
  6. King Abdulaziz Univ. (Saudi Arabia)
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Data are the foundation of science, and there is an increasing focus on how data can be reused and enhanced to drive scientific discoveries. However, most seemingly “open data” do not provide legal permissions for reuse and redistribution. The inability to integrate and redistribute our collective data resources blocks innovation and stymies the creation of life-improving diagnostic and drug selection tools. To help the biomedical research and research support communities (e.g. libraries, funders, repositories, etc.) understand and navigate the data licensing landscape, the (Re)usable Data Project (RDP) assesses the licensing characteristics of data resources and how licensing behaviors impact reuse. We have created a ruleset to determine the reusability of data resources and have applied it to 56 scientific data resources (e.g. databases) to date. Here, the results show significant reuse and interoperability barriers. Inspired by game-changing projects like Creative Commons, the Wikipedia Foundation, and the Free Software movement, we hope to engage the scientific community in the discussion regarding the legal use and reuse of scientific data, including the balance of openness and how to create sustainable data resources in an increasingly competitive environment.

Research Organization:
Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory (LBNL), Berkeley, CA (United States)
Sponsoring Organization:
USDOE Office of Science (SC)
Grant/Contract Number:
AC02-05CH11231
OSTI ID:
1542395
Journal Information:
PLoS ONE, Vol. 14, Issue 3; ISSN 1932-6203
Publisher:
Public Library of ScienceCopyright Statement
Country of Publication:
United States
Language:
English
Citation Metrics:
Cited by: 6 works
Citation information provided by
Web of Science

References (10)

An open source pharma roadmap journal April 2017
First, design for data sharing journal April 2016
Legal confusion threatens to slow data science journal August 2016
Open by default: a proposed copyright license and waiver agreement for open access research and data in peer-reviewed journals journal September 2012
The FAIR Guiding Principles for scientific data management and stewardship journal March 2016
How to capture developmental brain dynamics: gaps and solutions journal May 2021
The FAIR Guiding Principles for scientific data management and stewardship. other January 2016
Legal tussle delays launch of huge toxicity database journal February 2016
Enhanced Data Sharing Working Group Recommendation: The Cancer Data Ecosystem text January 2016
Request for Community partnership in data resource licensing planning text January 2017

Cited By (2)

The Monarch Initiative in 2019: an integrative data and analytic platform connecting phenotypes to genotypes across species journal November 2019
Google Dataset Search by the Numbers preprint January 2020

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96 KNOWLEDGE MANAGEMENT AND PRESERVATION