Open Data in the EU

1.2. Commission Notice

Guidelines on recommended standard licences, datasets and charging for the re-use of documents, 24 July 2014.

The purpose of the Commission Notice was  to provide a non-binding guidance on best practices within three subject areas of particular relevance for the re-use of public sector information in Europe: recommended standard licences, datasets and charging.

The guidance document was  targeted at national administrations to guide them in transposing the 2013 PSI Directive and to encourage practices that increase the role of PSI in the digital market. 

• As for licenses, the Commission recommended not imposing limits on the possibility of re-using information, but to define precise conditions for personal data protection. Re-users must be made aware of the rules on personal data processing from the beginning (for example, by including a relevant clause in the licence). Among other things, it also recommended the use of standard and already widespread licensing solutions. Finally, it specified that, in most cases, for data re-use, it is sufficient to respect the requirement of explicit citation of the source.

• With regard to datasets, the document indicated the five types of information considered of most significant interest to businesses and other potential users. These were  geographical, environmental, transport, statistical and data related to business registers and their accounting and management documents. 

• In relation to costs, the Commission asked  the public administrations to ensure that data downloading was always free or, at the very least, limited to the marginal cost of reproduction, supply and distribution.