I was recently asked to write a piece for Berlin-based think tank Das Progressive Zentrum on public interest information policy in Germany:
- Wem gehört das Wissen? Informationspolitik in Deutschland (Shorter German version)
- Public Interest Information Policy in Germany (Longer English version)
The piece finishes with three policy suggestions:
- Support legislation as well as licensing and pricing policies that support public re-usability of Public Sector Information. The creation of a national register of PSI assets, and the commissioning of a country-wide and cross-sector report would help to inform appropriate activity in this area.
- Support mandates for open access to publicly funded research. These should target higher education institutions, as well as funding bodies and umbrella organisations.
- Keep the public domain in the public domain. Encourage publicly funded cultural heritage institutions to allow digital copies of their holdings to be re-used by the public. Encourage the adoption of intellectual property law and policy that takes account of public interest, as well as private interests.
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