Joint statement by CETAF, SPNHC and BHL on DATA within scientific publications: clarification of [non]copyrightability

Abstract

The EU and other states have made legislative efforts to clarify data mining in copyrightable works, but the situation remains obscure and confusing, especially in a globalised field where international legislation can contribute to opacity. The present paper aims at asserting a common position of three communities representing biodiversity sciences and data specialists on this issue and to propose common and best practice guidelines so that they become universally accepted rules. As scientific data users, we take the standpoint that scientific data are not copyrightable and, furthermore, they can be accessed, shared and reused freely. Thus, once legal access has been gained to copyrighted publications, the data within those scholarly publications can be considered to be open data that is freely extractable. This set of recommendations has been reached specifically for scientific use and societal benefits.