Data and the Law: Beyond the Sweat of the Brow: Who Owns Published Data? And What is Data?
Gerald van Belle, Leslie Ruiter · Significance · 2014
Abstract You gather data for research, you publish – and who then owns your data? That begs the philosophical question: what is data? The US Supreme Court has ruled that “data” are facts and cannot be copyrighted. So can everyone use your data? And why do authors find themselves paying to use data that others have gathered? In the new age of supposedly open access to digital and big data, Gerald van Belle and Leslie Ruiter discuss the background, current status and future challenges to who legally owns data.