Research Guides: Research Data Management at TRU: Copyright and Ownership of Data

Copyright and Ownership of Data

The answers to "who owns this data" can be complicated and vary from project to project. This is why it's important to find answers and have a plan for this early in the project. This can help you as well if someone leaves TRU or the research team, when you're deciding who is responsible for sharing the data, and what kind of license to assign to your data.

Copyright at TRU

TRU's copyright policy

Suggestion

Have a data ownership agreement and "policy" for your project that lays out who is responsible for the data, what will happen to the data, and responsibilities of each team member. This will likely be part of your data management plan itself. Ensure everyone on the team is aware of this information. This may be especially important if you have a large research team or a long-term project. Consider:

Are there students who may leave TRU abruptly? Do they understand that you will need the data they collected?
Will graduate students publishing papers or theses be able to publish data alongside them if your the larger project is still ongoing?

Helpful Resources to Consider

TRU Faculty Guide to Graduate Student Supervision
Specifically, this guide recommends considering these ideas early and discussing them with students up front.

Copyright and Ownership: Resources

Open Data Commons
Open Data Commons is the home of a set of legal tools and licenses to help you publish, provide and use open data.
Creative Commons
A California based organization devoted to expanding the range of creative works available for others to build upon legally and to share through their release of copyright licenses available free of charge to the public. These licenses allow creators to communicate which rights they reserve, and which rights they waive for the benefit of recipients or other creators.