Open government data licensing framework: an informal ontology for supporting mashup

Abstract

Objectives of the thesis are –1) to identify the legal problems coming from mashups of Open Government Data (OGD) and 2) to purpose an informal ontology to help technical reusers of Public Sector Information to utilize datasets according to their intended purpose and in compliance with the legal obligations that govern the rights to reuse the data. A survey of national OGD portals found that the majority of OGD are released under inappropriate licenses, not fully complying with the legal rules that apply to the reuse of the data. Open Government Data can be released and covered by multiple licensing regimes, up to 33 in a single country. We have analysed the European Union (EU) legal framework of reuse of Public Sector Information (PSI), the EU Database Directive and copyright framework and other legal sources (e.g., licenses, legal notices, and terms of use) that can apply to open government Datasets. From this deep analysis we have modelled several major concepts in an Informal Ontology of Open Government Data Licenses Framework for a Mash-up Model (iOGDL4M). The iOGDL4M will be used for qualifying datasets in order to improve the accuracy of their legal annotation. The iOGDL4M also aims to connect each applicable legal rule to official legal texts in order to direct legal experts and reusers to primary sources. This research aims to present 1) a legal analysis of OGD regulation in the European Union and its member states; 2) the Survey of National Open Government Data Portals and analysis of the most commonly applied licenses and legal notices and their compatibility; and 3) the Informal Ontology of Open Government Data Licenses Framework for a Mash-up Model. This thesis is comprised of 4 publications. It consists of presentation of the research, the publications, and annexes that support the research.