The Open Database License (ODbL) is a
copyleft
Copyleft is the legal technique of granting certain freedoms over copies of copyrighted works with the requirement that the same rights be preserved in derivative works. In this sense, ''freedoms'' refers to the use of the work for any purpose ...
license agreement intended to allow users to freely share, modify, and use a
database
In computing, a database is an organized collection of data stored and accessed electronically. Small databases can be stored on a file system, while large databases are hosted on computer clusters or cloud storage. The design of databases s ...
while maintaining this same freedom for others.
ODbL is published by
Open Data Commons
Open data is data that is openly accessible, exploitable, editable and shared by anyone for any purpose. Open data is licensed under an open license.
The goals of the open data movement are similar to those of other "open(-source)" movements ...
, which is part of
Open Knowledge Foundation
Open Knowledge Foundation (OKF) is a global, non-profit network that promotes and shares information at no charge, including both content and data. It was founded by Rufus Pollock on 20 May 2004 in Cambridge, UK. It is incorporated in England a ...
.
The ODbL was created with the goal of allowing users to share their data freely without worrying about problems relating to copyright or ownership. It allows users to freely use the data in the database, including in other databases; edit existing data in the database; and add new data to the database. The license establishes the rights of users of the database, as well as the correct procedure for attributing credit where credit is due for the data, and how to make changes or improvements in the data, thus simplifying the sharing and comparison of data.
Freedoms
* To Share: To copy, distribute and use the database.
* To Create: To produce works from the database.
* To Adapt: To modify, transform and build upon the database.
Conditions
* Attribute: You must attribute any public use of the database, or works produced from the database, in the manner specified in the ODbL. For any use or redistribution of the database, or works produced from it, you must make clear to others the license of the database and keep intact any notices on the original database.
* Share-Alike: If you publicly use any adapted version of this database, or works produced from an adapted database, you must also offer that adapted database under the ODbL.
* Keep open: If you redistribute the database, or an adapted version of it, then you may use technological measures that restrict the work (such as
digital rights management) as long as you also redistribute a version without such measures.
Notable uses
The
OpenStreetMap (OSM) project completed the move from a
Creative Commons license to ODbL in September 2012 in an attempt to have more legal security and a more specific license for databases rather than creative works.
Other projects using ODbL include
OpenCorporates
OpenCorporates is a website that shares data on corporations under the copyleft Open Database License. The company was launched on 20 December 2010, by Chris Taggart and Rob McKinnon.
Recognition
In 2011, the site won third place in the O ...
Open Data Blend Open Food Facts
Open Food Facts is a free, online and crowdsourced database of food products from around the world licensed under the Open Database License (ODBL) while its artwork—uploaded by contributors—is distributed under a Creative Commons Attribution ...
, and
Paris OpenData.
See also
*
Sui generis database right
A database right is a ''sui generis'' property right, comparable to but distinct from copyright, that exists to recognise the investment that is made in compiling a database, even when this does not involve the "creative" aspect that is reflecte ...
*
References
External links
Open Database License (ODbL)Open Data Commons
Licensing
Databases
Open data
OpenStreetMap
Copyleft
{{Comp-stub