1. W. Christopher Lenhardt
Associate Director, Information Services; Deputy Director, SEDAC
Robert R. Downs
Senior Digital Archivist; SEDAC Archives Manager
Robert S. Chen
Director & Senior Research Scientist; SEDAC Manager; CODATA Secretary-General
Center for International Earth Science Information Network (CIESIN) Socioeconomic Data and Applications Center (SEDAC) The Earth Institute at Columbia University
Creative Commons and Data Dissemination at an Academic Data Center: Issues and Potential Benefits

2. Data Center Goals Related to Rights Management
Support re-distribution, re-use data
Seek to document uses of data
Provide attribution
Track provenance
Happy users!

3. Traditional Data Licensing: General Issues
Time consuming
Paperwork
Negotiations
Confusing language
Difficult to track/maintain records
Separate from the data
Not really machine- readable
Uploaded on January 31, 2007
by sbluerock

4. Data Center Permissions Issues: Part 1 – Obtaining Permissions From Data Providers
Identifying ownership
Author(s) and organizations? Work-for-hire?
Public domain?
Does representative have the authority to grant rights to us?
Requesting non-exclusive rights
Explaining rights request and terminology
Avoiding Use Restrictions (ie; educational use only)
Negotiating for right to allow 3rd party dissemination to avoid later negotiations on behalf of re-distributors

5. Data Center Permissions Issues: Part 2 – Providing Permissions for Use and Re-distribution
Identifying the exact title of the data resource for which authorization is sought
Determining the exact rights being requested
Determining whether the requested rights may be granted
Did data provider grant such rights to us so that we can authorize others. Is the request in writing?
Formality for providing rights to data resource
? Facsimile of signed statement? Original signed statement
Better to have rights statement fixed to or embedded in resource

6. Copyright Applicability Depends on Content
Copyright Potentially Applicable
Copyright Not Necessarily Applicable
GPW grids
Original boundaries and population data
ENTRI Database
Treaty text
Natural Disaster Hotspots Datasets
Underlying hazard & vulnerability data
GRUMP Maps
Source data
Remote Sensing Case Studies and Reports
Satellite remote sensing imagery
Metadata
Standard metadata field titles

7. Somewhat overwhelming for
Other Related Issues
How to handle legacy data sets where ownership might be murky
Potential need to educate users
Within a university that maintains a measure of control over intellectual property, can we use CC licensing?
Somewhat overwhelming for
Creators
Data managers
Users

8. Creative Commons: A Potential Solution?
Non-exclusive
Non-revocable
Formats
Designed to be easily understood by lay persons
Acceptable to legal community
Machine-readable
Searchable
Can be packaged with the data

9. Some Related Trends
Efforts to promote access to data through open journals and journals devoted to data
Efforts to create science commons
Creative Commons, Science Commons project
CODATA – Global Information Commons for Science Initiative
Increase in volume and complexity of digital data and digital databases is highlighting the need to do a better job with copyright and licensing of these data
IASSIST 2006 Session
C1: Data Issues in the Sciences: An Environmental Scan 
Data Access and Preservation across the Sciences: New Ideas and Initiatives Bob Chen, Center for International Earth Science Information Network (CIESIN)
The Science Commons Data Project John Wilbanks, Science Commons
The Scientific Data Commons and Non-conventional Sources Harlan Onsrud, University of Maine

10. CIESIN - Now Adding CC License to Maps We Create and Disseminate
Part of graphic
Added to metadata

11. Approach to Using CC Licensing at CIESIN
Regarding potentially complex ownership, we are proceeding cautiously. Starting with data products we create de novo and will branch out from there as we gain more experience.
We believe that our use of the CC license is consistent with University policy.
Working with the University Librarian on this issue.

12. Helping Data Providers with CC Licensing
Fostering workflow for online data submission to digital repository
Giving data providers CC licensing choices
Asking data providers for rights to preserve data

13. Summary of Potential Benefits and tradeoffs for Data Creators, Data Managers and Users, from Adoption of CC Licensing
Easier for data managers
Easier for users
Visible CC license may encourage use of data and data products
Opportunity for CC licensing may encourage data submission
May reduce negotiation of rights from data authors
Reduce need to negotiate
Reduce level of effort to negotiate
Rights descriptions may encourage development of derived products
Non-Exclusive CC licenses may encourage redistribution
Could reduce negotiation for data redistribution rights
Could reduce requests for and awareness of re-publication
Could limit tracking re-published data developed by SEDAC
Potential for multiple distributors of SEDAC distributed data
Could influence decisions on accession and distribution
Potential to track usage through the license