Open Data Commons have released v1.0 of the Open Database License
(ODbL)
, a share-alike license for data and databases.

This is really big news for anyone working on open data as there are very few open data licenses available and none that provide for share-alike.

From the announce:

We are delighted to announce the release of v1.0 of the Open Database License (ODbL):

http://www.opendatacommons.org/licenses/odbl/

The Open Database License (ODbL) is an open license for data and databases which includes explicit attribution and share-alike requirements.

This license, the first of its kind, is a major step forward for open data. There are currently very few licenses available suited to data and databases and none which provide for share-alike (existing share-alike licenses such as the GPL, GFDL and CC By-SA are all unsuitable for data).

The development of the ODbL, has been a major effort extending over more than one and half years with an intensive consultation and review period for the last 6 months. We’d like to express our thanks to the communities and individuals who have contributed during this time.

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Rufus Pollock is Founder and President of Open Knowledge.