Licensing agreement
DATICE and the data depositor sign a licensing agreement, a binding legal document that outlines how the data and its documentation may be used. It also specifies how the involved parties will make sure the data complies with all laws and regulations on personal privacy/data protection and ownership. In some cases, a specialized licensing agreement may be drafted, especially when data contains sensitive information of some sort.
All licensing agreements made with DATICE clearly state that owners of the data will continue to hold ownership rights and are still free to distribute the data through other mediums.
Who holds ownership of the data?
The author of the original work usually holds ownership over the data, whether it is an individual, a company or an institution. If the work is completed as part of a job assignment, the employer generally retains ownership of the work. A person who is hired to collect or create data on behalf of someone else holds ownership rights, unless otherwise stated, for example in a written contract. When data are generated from a number of sources, or if a study is funded by multiple agencies or institutes, all parties involved hold joint ownership of the data. In such cases, the depositor must request permission from all parties to publish the data in open access; a cover letter confirming the agreement should accompany the data when it is deposited with DATICE.
Fundamentals of DATICE licensing agreements
The data depositor confirms that:
1. The depositor is the owner of the data or has legal permission from its author(s). If there is more than one author, the signature of all parties is required.
2. The dataset does not infringe in any way on the ownership or copyrights of others.
3. DATICE is granted permission to store the data, free of charge.
4. DATICE receives permission to distribute the data free of charge and make changes to it if necessary.
5. The data does not contain any direct personal identifiers.
Special licensing agreements
In some cases, a specialized licensing agreement is needed, for example when data contains sensitive information and is to be published under a restricted access protocol. In such cases, additional restrictions or conditions for use should be specified in the licensing agreement.