Open Licenses page - reference (or directly use) OpenDefinition.org

[rufuspollock]

Great to see http://project-open-data.github.io/open-licenses/

This seems to be very close to the existing Open Definition as per http://opendefinition.org/okd/.

Would it perhaps make more sense to directly reference the Open Definition (and the license conformance process) and get someone from the WH team on the Open Definition Advisory Council.

[JoshData]

See my comments on issue #5. The Open Definition is not strong enough. (We're a lot stricter in the U.S.!)

[rufuspollock]

@tauberer we're talking about a standard definition of "open license" for data in which case the Open Definition would seem appropriate. (Even in the US an open license does not by default equal public domain - Open Street Map or Wikipedia is considered "openly licensed")

If one wants to enunciate a principle of PD-only for gov data (and not just PD for US only but for the world) that's fantastic but a distinct question.

[JoshData]

The memorandum is a little incoherent on "open license" because an open license can't be applied to (public domain) US govt data. Given that, I think all bets are off about what we're actually talking about.

EDIT: Also, licenses.md contradicts the memorandum. The memorandum says "no restrictions" on use a few times, while licenses.md says "few restrictions."

[rufuspollock]

@tauberer it definitely seems like some useful clarity is needed here and I've also commented in #5. Questions atm are:

What is absolutely required? Is it public domain only or can one have attribution (or even share-alike)

What is recommended (versus required)? E.g. one could permit attribution but recommend public domain

How this translates through to dedication / licenses (i.e. what is in licenses examples file - cf #64)

[haleyvandyck]

Thanks for referencing the OpenDefinition.org resources. We think is a great resource for licenses with few restrictions and we are considering this as an example moving forward. We are in the processes of evaluating other changes in the policy around open licenses which we will post soon and will welcome feedback and discussion. Thanks for flagging.