Which Licensing Option Should I Use?

The licensing option you choose tells the visitors to your website what rights they have to use and share your data. The licensing option is stored as part of the metadata for the datasets.

Data & Insights supports the following licensing options:

1. Public Domain: The information is freely available for public use. More details can be found here: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Public_domain
2. Italian Open Data License 2.0: This is derived from the Creative Commons license for Italy, and allows users the ability to share, modify, and use the database, while also requiring specifications such as explicit mentioning of the data source and the name of the data holder. More details can be found here (in Italian): https://www.dati.gov.it/content/italian-open-data-license-v20
3. UK Open Government License v3: The OGL is under the UK Government Licensing Framework (UKGLF) and is managed by the National Archives. In general, “you are encouraged to use and re-use the Information that is available under this licence freely and flexibly,” however there a few conditions and exemptions. More details can be found here: http://www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/doc/open-government-licence/version/3/
4. Creative Commons: There are various versions of licensing through Creative Commons ranging from allowing sharing and derivatives commercially and non-commercially with attribution, to only non-commercial sharing with attribution and without derivatives. More details can be found here: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/
5. Open Data Commons: There are a few licenses under the Open Data Commons, including the Public Domain Dedication and License (PDDL), the Attribution License (ODC-By), and the Open Database License (ODC-ODbL). More details can be found here: http://opendatacommons.org/licenses/
6. Public Domain U.S. Government: United States government creative works, including writing, images, and computer code, are usually prepared by officers or employees of the United States government as part of their official duties. A government work is generally not subject to copyright in the United States and there is generally no copyright restriction on reproduction, derivative works, distribution, performance, or display of a government work. For details, please go here: https://www.usa.gov/government-works
7. Standard Reference Data Copyright US Secretary of Commerce: The Standard Reference Data Act empowers the Secretary of Commerce to assign a copyright on Standard Reference Data (SRD) distributed by NIST. Distributions of SRD products should include the following statement: "Copyright protection on this compilation of data has been secured by the U.S. Department of Commerce in the United States and in other countries that are parties to the Universal Copyright Convention, pursuant to Section 290(e) of Title 15 of the United States Code." More details can be found here: https://www.nist.gov/director/licensing
8. Nova Scotia Open Government License: This license indicates your acceptance of the terms listed under the Nova Scotia Government License. The Information Provider grants you a worldwide, royalty-free, perpetual, non-exclusive license to use the Information, including for commercial purpose. More information and list of terms can be found here: http://novascotia.ca/opendata/licence.asp.
9. Canada Open Government License: This license indicates your acceptance of the terms listed under the Canadian Government License. The Information Provider grants you a worldwide, royalty-free, perpetual, non-exclusive license to use the Information, including for commercial purpose. More information and list of terms can be found here: http://open.canada.ca/en/open-government-licence-canada  

Consult your legal team about the best licensing option to use for your data.