Licences

In order to extend the reusability of research data (where protected by copyright), databases, or software beyond the limits set by copyright law and thereby enable significantly broader dissemination of works licenses can be used to clearly define specific usage rights.

By using standardized licenses, rights holders can determine how a work may be used (e.g. copied, stored, modified, or made digitally accessible). The University of Münster explicitly supports the principles of Open Science and promotes the open exchange of knowledge. Researchers are therefore encouraged to make their research data and results openly accessible by using appropriate licenses.

Usage licenses for research data

Research data and databases can be made available under various licenses. Some commonly used licenses include:

• Creative Commons (CC): suitable for texts, images, and data. These licenses enable research data to be shared, modified, and reused. Further information can be found on the ULB publishing website.
• Open Data Commons (ODC): specifically designed for databases. They provide various options for the use and reuse of data.
• Community Data License Agreement (CDLA): designed for data. These licenses enable the sharing and use of data.

Software licenses

Separate licenses apply to software used for the analysis and processing of research data. Some commonly used software licenses include:

• GNU General Public License (GPL): a copyleft license that allows software to be used, modified, and redistributed.
• MIT License: a permissive license that allows software to be used, modified, and redistributed.
• Apache License: a permissive license that allows software to be used, modified, and redistributed.
• Berkeley Software Distribution License (BSD): a permissive license that allows software to be used, modified, and redistributed with few restrictions and without strict requirements for reuse.

Detailed information on rights and licenses for releasing research data, databases, and software can be found on the websites forschungsdaten.info and forschungslizenzen.de, published by the German Archaeological Institute (DAI).

If you have further questions, please contact the Service Center for Data Management.