License

When sharing data, it is important to use a license that facilitates reuse and ensures you receive credit for the data. According to the open definition and the Berlin Declaration on Open Access, open licenses are preferred.

 

Research Data:

The standard choice for data created at INRiM is the Creative Commons "Attribution" (CC BY) license. When you label your file, image, or information with this license, it means anyone can use your information in any way they wish, as long as they give you credit. There are other types of Creative Commons licenses that do not allow commercial use (CC BY-NC) and licenses that do not require users to attribute the creator. Creative Commons licenses are often used for materials published online, but they can also be included in printed materials if your publisher does not hold the rights. To apply a Creative Commons license, no documentation is needed: simply publish (either in print or online) your materials along with a notification that you're using a specific license.

 

IMPORTANT NOTE: Creative Commons licenses are "irrevocable," so do not apply a Creative Commons license unless you are certain that:

  • You have the right to publish this information.
  • You do not wish to revoke it later for any reason.
  • If you intend to commercialize your research, we recommend contacting the open science group before applying a license to your data, software, or code.

 

Software:

Software licenses must be "permissive," meaning they allow the reuse of the software even for proprietary software. Therefore, we recommend using the MIT license whenever possible. This license is fully compatible with the definitions above, allowing reuse of the software with the only requirement being attribution. Alternatively, other permissive open-source licenses, such as the Apache 2.0 license and the BSD three-clause license can be included.

The use of open-source "strong copyleft" licenses, such as the GNU GPL, istrongly discouraged because they are not compliant with the open definition and the Berlin Declaration. These licenses are accepted only for justified reasons, for example, if your software is based on other software with these licenses.