Government information is in principle protected
under Dutch copyright law. Mireille
van Eechoud and Brenda
van der Wal did research on the question whether Creative
Commons licensing is a suitable method to contribute to
the distribution and use of public sector information,
and what legal problems it involves. The study focused
on the use of copyright for government information in
relation to existing access regimes based on freedom of
information principles, notably the Dutch Wet
Openbaarheid van Bestuur (Freedom of Information Act).
In this context regard will also be had for the recent
implementation of the European
Directive 2003/98/EC on the re-use of public sector
information.
M.M.M.
van Eechoud & B.
van der Wal,  Creative
commons licensing for public sector information:
Opportunities and pitfalls, Institute for
Information Law, 2007.
The Creative
Commons model seems an attractice instrument for
public sector bodies that seek to enhance
transparent access to their information, be it for
purposes of democratic accountability or re-use for
economic or other uses. This study examined that
hypothesis and highlights the major opportunities
and pitfalls of the Creative Commons model for
public sector information. It assesses where there
is a match between the creative commons model and
the principles of freedom of information law and the
Public Sector Information Directive (EC Directive
2003/98 on the re-use of public sector information)
as implemented in the new chapter V-A of the Dutch
Freedom of Information Act (Wet Openbaarheid van
Bestuur). The assessment was made not only at the
more principled, abstract level, but also at the
level of the individual licensing terms. It is
preceded by an analysis of government information as
subject of intellectual property rights, under the
Dutch Copyright Act and the Database Act.
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