open data

Open data is the idea that some data should be freely available to everyone to use and republish as they wish, without restrictions from copyright, patents or other mechanisms of control.^[1] The goals of the open-source data movement are similar to those of other “open(-source)” movements such as open-source software, hardware, open content, open education, open educational resources, open government, open knowledge, open access, open science, and the open web. Paradoxically, the growth of the open data movement is paralleled by a rise in intellectual property rights.^[2] The philosophy behind open data has been long established (for example in the Mertonian tradition of science),