[Puneet Kishor]

Look, here is how it works:
Do you get any rights in data just because you spent a lot of effort collecting it? In Europe and a few other jurisdictions, yes (sweat of brow). In the US, no. But keep in mind, there are specific conditions under which db rights kick in and, in any case, they can be defended only in Europe and wherever else they are recognized.
Can you force someone else to do your bidding if they take your data and sign a contract promising to do something in return? Yes, but they either shouldn’t sign the contract or be prepared to do what they promised because they thought the exchange was worth it.
Can you own data? As Willi showed us so eloquently, no.
But can you believe you own data? Yeah sure, you can also believe you are the queen of England and you still own India and all the world’s spice trade. Doesn’t make it true but you can believe it.

Discussion

[ENRIQUE ALONSO GARCIA]

Puneet,
Come on…!! Be realistic…… Believing I am not the Queen of England (by the way who the hell may even want to think in believing such a nightmare…) is not comparable to believing that some data I obtained and are in my computer under my password and that I do not want to share are … mine..(whatever mine means)
I have learned be open to expressions of intuitive insistence of intelligent people. I think Bernard´s hunch is more than a hunch…
Do you want US brainy lawyers´ articles saying what he says? And do you want to delay guidelines until these lawyers officially retract?
I could send you quite a lot.—
take care
________________________________________
De: punk.kish=***@***.***-groups.org [punk.kish=***@***.***-groups.org] En nombre de punkish [***@***.***]
Enviado el: miércoles, 13 de abril de 2016 4:45
Para: Jean-Bernard Minster; RDA/CODATA Legal Interoperability IG
CC: Enrique Alonso García
Asunto: [rda-legalinterop-ig] Re: [rda-legalinterop-ig] Re: [rda-legalinterop-ig] RE: [rda-legalinterop-ig] RE: [rda…
Look, here is how it works:
Do you get any rights in data just because you spent a lot of effort collecting it? In Europe and a few other jurisdictions, yes (sweat of brow). In the US, no. But keep in mind, there are specific conditions under which db rights kick in and, in any case, they can be defended only in Europe and wherever else they are recognized.
Can you force someone else to do your bidding if they take your data and sign a contract promising to do something in return? Yes, but they either shouldn’t sign the contract or be prepared to do what they promised because they thought the exchange was worth it.
Can you own data? As Willi showed us so eloquently, no.
But can you believe you own data? Yeah sure, you can also believe you are the queen of England and you still own India and all the world’s spice trade. Doesn’t make it true but you can believe it.
El texto de este correo es confidencial y exclusivamente está dirigido a su destinatario. Si se ha enviado a una dirección errónea rogamos elimine el mismo y, en su caso, los documentos adjuntos, y nos lo comunique urgentemente. This message is intented only for the use of the addresse and contain confidential information. If you are not the intented recipient, dissemination of this documentation is prohibited. If you have received this communication in error, please, erase all copies of the message and its attachments and notify us immediately.
Antes de imprimir este correo electrónico, piense bien si es necesario hacerlo: El medioambiente es cosa de todos.

[Puneet Kishor]

Hi Enrique,
I am not at all doubting JB. In fact, I myself know more than a few scientists who, for one reason or another, believe they own the data they have collected. All I am saying is them believing doesn’t make it so.
Of course, what such a mistaken belief of ownership does do is that it keeps their data out of circulation. That is a problem, indeed, but it is an orthogonal problem. Sometimes it works out to the benefit of the hoarders, but possibly (and this is what we OA/open science proponents believe) it hinders both their own growth and the growth of the entire ecosystem of science. But again, that is a different problem that needs to be solved by education, by example, and most importantly by policy related to rewards and recognition.
What we shouldn’t be doing is implying that there is a legal basis for ownership of data. Promulgating that belief will set us back by a lot.
Puneet.

[Author]

Replies