The reason for open data

Open data are those sets of data produced o compiled by public bodies that are made a available to citizens, -normally from public portals-, so that they can be used in a simple, free and convenient way.

Open data has great potential value i they are essential for a the transparency of public administrations, l'efficiency i equal opportunities a l'time to create wealth. Making -them a available to society is an exercise in transparency that allows citizens to have information about the actions i services of l'Administration i on the management of public resources.

The reuse of data also allows the different actors in society (citizens in general, entities, associations, companies, etc.) to develop new products and services that provide value, innovation, knowledge, and in fact even become potential business opportunities.

Open data principles

Open data must be:

  • Púpublic: they must not be subject to any type of privacy, security a or any other type of restriction, except those that, by law, are subject to o restrictions.
  • Detailed: it must be the same original, unprocessed i primary data (known as a raw data). S must report how the information was obtained i where the primary documents are located; this way the user can verify that it is a transparent process i that the data has not been manipulated.
  • Updated : they must be a available to citizens with the necessary frequency so that they do not lose their value i are always accurate i current. S'priority must be given a to those data whose usefulness depends on the time factor.
  • Accessible : They must be accessible to the largest possible number of users, so that there are no restrictions on the purpose of use or barriers, such as the need to formally request information or carry out any other procedure.
  • Automated : they must be available in widely used electronic formats i structured so that they can be processed automatically on any computer.
  • Without registration : they must be open to a everyone, without the need to have to register- beforehand to a be able to consult-them.
  • Open format : they cannot be owned or depend on a specific company i they must be free from legal i economic restrictions on use.
  • Free : l'use of the data must not be subject to a any type of regulation that restricts its reuse. Therefore, the data must be free of rights, patents, copyright i and not be subject to a privacy rights or security o rules.

Regulatory framework

Beyond the ethical and economic values that the promotion of open data may imply, it is important to mention that the reuse of data from the public sector is regulated by Law 37/2007, of 16 November, on the reuse of information from the public sector. which was modified by Law 18/2015, of July 9, to adapt-the a the <a href="http://www.boe.es/doue/2003/345/L00090-00096.pdf">European Directive 2013/37/EU .

On the other hand, the National Interoperability Scheme (ENI), regulated by Royal Decree 4/2010, of 8 January, establishes the set of criteria and recommendations that must be taken into account by the AAs. for making technological decisions that guarantee interoperability, specifically the Technical Interoperability Standard for the Reuse of Information Resources , which establishes the set of basic guidelines for the reuse of documents and information resources produced and held by the public sector.

It is also key to highlight the l'promotion of the reuse of data associated a laws linked to the promotion of Transparency, specifically a the State-level Law <a href="https://www.boe.es/boe/dias/2013/12/10/pdfs/BOE-A-2013-12887.pdf">19/2013, of December 9, on transparency, access a to public information úblic i good governance . púpublic information i good government .

In this sense, both in the case of the state and Catalan transparency law, the regulation addresses three main elements: the obligations of active advertising for all administrations and public entities, preferably in reusable formats; the right of access to public information; and finally, the obligations relating to good governance that must be fulfilled by public officials.

Going into detail of Law 19/2014, if we look at l'article 5.1 it is specified that “mechanisms will be established to a provide transparency information in a clear, structured way i in a reusable format through a comprehensive information system i knowledge in electronic format”.

On the other hand, a l'article 17 states that “the reuse of public information is free i and is not subject to a restrictions, except in cases where, by regulation, it is subject to a l'obtaining a Creative Commons attribution license”. That is to say, that a in the absence of a regulation that establishes a Creative Commons attribution license, the reuse of the information provided on the portal is free i and can be reused by any means i lawful use.

According to l'article 17 of Law 19/2014, data reuse can be done in two ways: one, in principle free, i another subject to a l'obtaining a Creative Commons Attribution license. The Transparency Portal must specify the type of reuse applicable a the information it contains i must also include a legal notice on the conditions of reuse.

-. First modality: data reuse is free i not subject a limitations, except for the basic conditions of l'art. 8 of Law 37/2007: citation of the source, non-alteration or distortion of the information, specification of the date of l'last update, indication of the purpose of the reuse of personal data i impossibility of identifying the interested parties by adding new data.

-. Second modality: the reuse of data, if applicable, is subject to obtaining a Creative Commons attribution license. In accordance with the provisions of art. 17 of Law 19/2014, the conditions and procedure for this type of reuse of public information must be developed by regulation.

Attribution licenses (Creative Commons)

Through a Creative Commons license, l'author exercises the right that the law grants him exclusively to decide certain conditions of use i distribution of his work. L'author can give freedom for his work to be reproduced as long as l'authorship i is recognized establishing, o not, restrictions on l'commercial use i the possibility of making derivative works.

Creative Commons licenses, therefore, are not alternatives to copyright, quite the opposite: they are based on intellectual property legislation i copyright i l'all they do is release certain rights held by the l'author of a work so that other people can make certain uses of it without having to request explicit permission.

There are six main Creative Commons licenses. All of them imply the attribution of l'author (by) i, the more symbols, the fewer uses are allowed:

  1. Attribution (by) o CC by : Any exploitation of the work is permitted, including commercial purposes, as well as the creation of derivative works, the distribution of which is also permitted without any restrictions.
  2. Attribution – ShareAlike (by-sa) o CC by-sa : Commercial use of l'work i of possible derivative works is permitted, the distribution of which must be done with a license equal a to the one that regulates l'original work.
  3. Attribution – NonCommercial (by-nc) o CC by-nc : The creation of derivative works is permitted as long as they are not used commercially. This does not mean that the person who owns the rights can use it for commercial purposes, only the restriction a applies to other people.
  4. Attribution – NoDerivative Works (by-nd) o CC by-nd : Commercial use of the work is permitted, but the creation of derivative works is not. This does not mean that the person who owns the rights can modify it, only the restriction a applies to all other people.
  5. Attribution – NonCommercial – ShareAlike (by-nc-sa) o CC by-nc-sa : Commercial use of the l'original work or of any derivative works is not permitted, the distribution of which must be done with a license equal a to the one that regulates the l'original work. This does not mean that the person who has the rights can use it for commercial purposes, only the restriction a applies to the rest of the people.
  6. Attribution – NonCommercial – NoDerivative Works (by-nc-nd) o CC by-nc-nd : Commercial use of the original work or the creation of derivative works by others who are not the copyright holders is not permitted. This is the most restrictive license, as it only allows other people to download the work and share it with others, as long as they acknowledge the work, but without making any modifications or commercial use.

As provided for in l'art. 17 of Law 19/2014, the future regulation must develop l'obtaining creative commons recognition licenses regarding a the reuse of public information.

Finally, it is also worth noting that State Law 19/2013 protects a local entities that want to promote reuse projects, where the information is offered in an exercise of transparency in its purest form.

Complementary documentation

The following publications are of interest to a for these purposes:

  • Álvarez Espinar, Martín (2014). Openness i reuse of public data. Open Government Publication 2014. Núm 2. Generalitat de Catalunya, Department of the Presidency. <a href="https://www.aoc.cat/blogs/2014/12/presentacio-del-llibre-obvertura-reutilización-de-dades-publiques/">https://web.aoc.cat/blogs/2014/12/presentacio-del-llibre-obvertura-reutilización-de-dades-publiques/
  • Castro D, Korte T (2015 ). <a href="http://www2.datainnovation.org/2015-open-data-g8.pdf">Open Data in G8: A review of Progress on the Open Data Charter . Center for Data Innovations.
  • Spanish Federation of Municipalities and Provinces (FEMP) (2017 ) minimum data a publish.
  • Rallo, R (2016), Anatomy Ontology (Task Team: DICI-CAO). Foundation Ontology for the City Anatomy.
  • Multi-sectoral Information Association (2018), <a href="http://www.asedie.es/"> VI ASEDIE report on the infomediary sector a l'estat español
  • Initiative <a href="https://datos.gob.es/es/acerca-de-la-iniciativa-aporta">APORTA – RED.es . Ministry of Finance and Pública Function, l Ministry of Energya Tourism and Digital Agenda. Report published a August 29, 2017.