When you share your research data, applying the right license clarifies how others may access, use, adapt, and cite your work. This enhances transparency, supports reuse, and helps you maintain appropriate credit for your contributions.
Understand Copyright & Licensing
- What is copyright?
Copyright gives the rights-holder power over reproduction, adaptation, translation, distribution and public performance of the work. - What can’t be copyrighted?
Works that lack originality, including facts, ideas, methods, procedures, raw data, or basic visualizations, usually fall outside copyright protection. - What can be copyrighted?
Original creative expressions, such as unique datasets, databases, research articles, and complex visualizations, are typically eligible for copyright protection.Because not all research data are protected by copyright, using a licence (or public-domain dedication) is a practical way to communicate your reuse intentions.
Using Creative Commons & Other Licenses
Creative Commons (CC) licenses
Offered by Creative Commons, these standard licences help you clearly convey permitted uses of your work internationally.
License elements include: BY (attribution), SA (share-alike), ND (no derivatives), NC (non‐commercial use).Examples:
CC BY – Allow reuse (including commercial) with attribution.
CC BY‐ND – Requires attribution and prohibits adaptations/remixing.
CC BY‐NC – Requires attribution and restricts commercial use.
CC BY‐SA – Allows adaptation/remixing but requires new works to carry the same license.
CC0 (“No Rights Reserved”)
A public-domain dedication tool: it enables you to waive as many rights as legally permissible and signal that you permit unrestricted reuse.Open Government Licenses (OGLs)
Governments often use OGLs to enable open access to public-sector data; these may also be relevant for datasets with government funding or origin. See, for example, OGL-Canada version 2.0 for Open Data Canada.
Which CC license do I choose?
Selecting a CC license depends on your preferences and the nature of your research:
- How much freedom do you want users to have?
- How much control do you want?
- How much access and use by users are appropriate for the subject of your research?
- Do you want others to attribute you? Do you not want others to make derivatives? Do you want to allow users to make money off your work (commercial use)?
The Creative Commons also provides a tool that can help you choose the right license.
The Borealis data repository is supported by the UBC Library to allow the application of any suite of the CC licenses. You can also consult UBC’s Creative Commons Guide for more detailed information about CC licenses.
Who has intellectual property rights over deposited or shared research data?
In most cases, intellectual property (IP) rights for research data remain with the researcher or the institution where the work was conducted. Depositing or sharing data does not transfer ownership. Instead, access and reuse are governed by institutional policies, funder requirements, and the terms established by a data repository.
Researchers are typically considered the creators and primary stewards of their data. In Canada, data generated through employment or funded research is often subject to institutional IP policies that outline ownership and responsibilities. At UBC, this is clearly outlined in the Ownership of Inventions at UBC document.
When you deposit data in a repository, you grant permissions for reuse by selecting an appropriate licence. This license defines how others may access, use, and cite the data, but it does not relinquish IP rights unless explicitly stated. Before depositing your data, review relevant UBC policies, grant agreements, and funder requirements to ensure your selected licence aligns with all applicable obligations.
Need help? Contact research.data@ubc.ca