License Types

Summary: Licenses allow you to choose how your data and documents can be reused.

Selecting a License

LDbase does not require licensing on all products. However, including a license clearly communicates the types of permissions a potential user has when accessing and using a product (such as a dataset or document).

Data Licenses

A data license is a legal arrangement between the creator of the data (i.e., the LDbase user who UPLOADS and SHARES their data) and the end user (i.e., an LDbase user who DOWNLOADS data), specifying how the data can be used. When data is released without a license, the terms of use may be less clear to others who access it.  Releasing data without a license may also deter other users from using and citing it. 

For data, we recommend Open Data Commons Attribution License (ODC-by), which allows others to use, modify, and share your data but must cite your data when doing so (i.e., if someone uses your data for an analysis in a publication, they must cite your data).

Other Product Types

For other products, such as accompanying documentation to a dataset, we recommend you examine the Creative Commons Licenses to choose which is most appropriate for you. For a great summary of what they all mean, check out https://foter.com/blog/how-to-attribute-creative-commons-photos/.

Resources

Below are some resources for learning more about open source licenses: