About Data Licensing

As a data contributor, you will select the license that applies to your data. The default option for non-human data is CC0, which Creative Commons refers to as a ‘no rights reserved’ license. Other options exist as well, which may be required if you’re submitting human data.

PLEASE NOTE! The following is our interpretation—you should consult legal counsel if you have questions about data sharing and how it might impact your ability to protect intellectual property.

Why Use CC0?

For non-human, raw experimental data, a CC0 license is the equivalent of depositing the data in the public domain and making it truly open data available to anyone without restriction.

Raw, experimental data should be the immediate output of an experiment, and thus, does not contain analysis or interpretation, such as what you would find in a publication. Though this type of data does not often meet the threshold of copyright, it’s important that before selecting CC0, you ensure that you have the right and authority to do so, as it is irrevocable.

Not only is CC0 a respected standard in use by many other repositories, it enables reuse, which is the goal of the NF Data Portal.

Particularly in the United States, copyright law is so complex that the imposition of any restrictions, no matter how reasonable, deters reuse. Releasing data into the public domain allows re-users to reanalyze and repurpose data to advance new discoveries. Additionally, a public domain release may be required by your funding structure — this type of release is commonly required of projects that are publicly funded.

Human Data Licensing Considerations

Due to its sensitive nature and due to laws like HIPAA, human data usually cannot be released in a fully open way. The NF data sharing plan’s second addendum provides guidelines for human data sharing.

In brief, to share human data, you must:

• Follow all applicable laws and regulations for your region and institution

• Confirm with a review board that the human data you’re sharing meets informed consent requirements

• De-identify all human data, and refrain from disclosing any patient identifiers to the NF-OSI and/or Sage Bionetworks

• Notify Sage Bionetworks of any data quality concerns, and submit quality corrections as quickly as possible

Related Resources

• Public Domain | Creative Commons

• Considerations for Licensing | Creative Commons Wiki

• Code Licenses | Open Source Initiative

• Sharing Sensitive Data | Stanford Libraries