Is data behind non-monetary paywalls really open?

[Karthik Shashidhar]

What do you think of websites or organizations that ask you to fill up an elaborate form or write an elaborate research proposal before they share their data with you? Do you think such data is really "open"? 

I find monetary paywalls more egalitarian than such artificial paywalls because in the former case the data is available to anyone who pays. In case of artificial paywalls though (I will call them paywalls since you effectively pay by massaging the ego of the person who controls the data) there is no guarantee that you will get the data and people controlling it can reject your requests for arbitrary reasons. 

Don't you think there is a case to campaign for data behind such artificial paywalls to be put in the public domain and made really "free"? At least we should campaign for all data produced as part of publicly funded research to be made publicly available in an easily downloadable and usable format. 

Regards

Karthik

[Gautam John]

On Mon, Feb 18, 2013 at 10:30 AM, Karthik Shashidhar
<karthik.s...@gmail.com> wrote:

> What do you think of websites or organizations that ask you to fill up an
> elaborate form or write an elaborate research proposal before they share
> their data with you? Do you think such data is really "open"?

It isn't open.

[Sumant Suresh Kulkarni]

Hi Karthik,

Very interesting question. However, before putting my points here, I wanted to know what are you referring to as non-monetary paywalls. Can you give some examples? It would definitely make the context more clear for me.

Thank you,

Sumant

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Regards,
Sumant

[Gautam John]

On Mon, Feb 18, 2013 at 10:54 AM, Sumant Suresh Kulkarni
<kulkarn...@gmail.com> wrote:

> Very interesting question. However, before putting my points here, I wanted
> to know what are you referring to as non-monetary paywalls. Can you give
> some examples? It would definitely make the context more clear for me.

From Karthik's email: "What do you think of websites or organizations

[Karthik Shashidhar]

On Mon, Feb 18, 2013 at 10:54 AM, Sumant Suresh Kulkarni <kulkarn...@gmail.com> wrote:

Very interesting question. However, before putting my points here, I wanted to know what are you referring to as non-monetary paywalls. Can you give some examples? It would definitely make the context more clear for me. 

Without taking names. I recently read a report online based on a survey. Now, I thought there were some different ways to look at and analyze the survey data, so I wanted to get my hands on the raw data. 

1. Nothing on the website mentioned how one can get their hands on the raw data.

2. I asked a friend who I thought might know someone in the organization who did the survey. Friend put through an introduction. Organization sends me an elaborate form which I've to fill along with a research proposal before they deem me worthy of having access to their data. 

3. This is not a for-profit organization. 

4. Some colleagues have tried to get data from the same organization in the past, and have been given less data than they asked for because the organization did not deem it necessary (based on the research proposal) to part with more data. 

[Deepak Shenoy]

> Without taking names. I recently read a report online based on a survey.
> Now, I thought there were some different ways to look at and analyze the
> survey data, so I wanted to get my hands on the raw data.

But take names no? :)

I stopped responding to surveys from Moneylife (although I respect
Debashis very much) because they seem to have a predisposition and
sometimes the questions are worded to elicit answers appropriately.
However I haven't asked them for the full data ever, and I assume that
this data. regardless of their non-profit-ness, isn't open.

[L. Shyamal]

I support Karthik's point and think there is a long overdue case to call for all publicly funded work (incl. government works, publications, data etc.) to be explicitly released into the public domain (as defined here http://law.yourdictionary.com/articles/what-is-public-domain.html ) or failing that freely licensed (given that the Copyright laws and other laws are too inertia bound).

If there is to be a single point agenda for any knowledge related organization, it would certainly be to seek change in the clause related to work of government so as to be along the lines of 17 USC 105 - a useful discussion on it can be found at http://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/text/17/105

best wishes
Shyamal

http://muscicapa.blogspot.com

Is data behind non-monetary paywalls really open?

Karthik Shashidhar <karthik.s...@gmail.com> Feb 18 10:30AM +0530  

What do you think of websites or organizations that ask you to fill up an
elaborate form or write an elaborate research proposal before they share
their data with you? Do you think such data is really "open"?
 

[Avinash Celestine]

there was some movement towards the making of govt funded work, or hopefully just govt work, copyright-free. there were many proposals before the govt when the last amendment to the copyright act came up for revision. However such proposals were rejected and they didnt go through. 

It is worth taking a look at the copyright act to see how govt works/govt funded works are treated, and you'll find that fairly interesting.

copyright in govt works: 60 years

section 52 of copyright act- "certain acts not to be infringement of copyright"  (emphasis added):

(q) the reproduction or publication of-

(i) any matter which has been published in any Official Gazette except an Act of a Legislature;

(ii) any Act of a Legislature subject to the condition that such Act is reproduced or published together

with any commentary thereon or any other original matter;

(iii) the report of any committee, commission, council, board or other like body appointed by the

Government if such report has been laid on the Table of the Legislature, unless the reproduction or

publication of such report is prohibited by the Government;

(iv) any judgement or order of a court, tribunal or other judicial authority, unless the reproduction or

publication of such judgment or order is prohibited by the court, the tribunal or other judicial authority,

as the case may be;

(r) the production or publication of a translation in any Indian language of an Act of a Legislature and

of any rules or orders made thereunder-

(i) if no translation of such Act or rules or orders in that language has previously been produced or

published by the Government; or

(ii) where a translation of such Act or rules or orders in that language has been produced or

published by the Government, if the translation is not available for sale to the public:

Provided that such translation contains a statement at a prominent place to the effect that the

translation has not been authorised or accepted as authentic by the Government;

If you carefully go through the law excerpted above, and pay particular attention to the exceptions there, you'll come to a set of what can only be called 'interesting' conclusions... :-)

for instance if i were to take a copy of a govt act and put it up on a website of mine, without any value added from my side, that's technically a violation of copyright.

A