Key Takeaways

  • Data itself is not generally considered intellectual property (IP), but may be protected via contract law, trade secrets, or copyright if creatively organized.
  • Data ownership is legally distinct from data control or stewardship; legal rights often stem from agreements and context.
  • There are four primary legal mechanisms used to protect data: contract, trade secret, copyright, and regulatory frameworks.
  • Aggregated or processed data may receive more protection than raw, factual data due to the investment in its creation or arrangement.
  • Understanding the legal basis of data protection helps in selecting appropriate licenses and usage rights, especially when sharing or monetizing data.

Intellectual property data involves the ownership of databases and other data-associated resources and the use and distribution of these creations. Users of databases must meet professional, legal, and ethical obligations when sharing data and database contents with others. The terms of use of a data set details these obligations.

Data vs. Database Protection

Most data projects have two components: the data collected, and the system where the data lives and how it's administered. When it comes to intellectual property rights, the data and the database that stores receives separate consideration in terms of eligibility copyright protection.

Factual data cannot be copyright protected in the United States, but not all data is necessarily fact-based. For example, photographs or other original content stored in a database could receive copyright protection. In addition, the database itself receives copyright protection based on its data organization and retrieval, both of which receive creative element classification. Governing factual data are mechanisms including trademarks and contract law.

Data Licensing

Before reusing data it's important to understand the terms of use for both the database and its contents. The Open Data Commons group developed legally binding tools for fair use including three standard licenses used for data projects:

  • Data elements covered by the Public Domain Dedication and License (PDDL) are in the public domain and are for free use and sharing by anyone.
  • The Attribution License (ODC-By) allows the public to freely modify, share, and use the data elements if they provide attribution as to the source of the database and data.
  • The ODC-ODbl license requires all use of the data and database to receive attribution and any new products created from the existing elements made freely accessible and distributed under the same terms as the original data elements. This is the most restrictive data license from ODC.

Supplementing these formal licenses are agreed-upon community norms for data sharing and use. 

Some of the standard licenses developed by Creative Commons (CC) also cover databases and data. The Creative Commons Attribution license shares the same terms as the ODC-By license; however, the so-called CC BY license requires the covered works to have a copyright whereas the ODC-By license covers factual data and other items that cannot be copyrighted. 

The most important CC licenses for data management include:

  • The CC0 licenses allow the copyright owner to waive his or her copyright by placing a database in the public domain, similar to the PDDL license.
  • The public domain mark (PDM) covers works in the public domain with no known database or copyright restrictions. For example, the PMD license marks factual data as free to use. 

Selecting a Data License

It's best to license data and databases using PDDL, ODC, or CC0 licenses to avoid causing issues for future users of the content. For example, if data taken from a database and used for research has an attributed source. Combining dozens or hundreds of data sets into a single database, however, would all require attribution, a problem called attribution stacking. Some of those data sets may have originated from other databases, which would also require attribution. Many communities avoid this problem by creating a norm that requiring a credit to authors only for the extensive use of a specific data set.

The Role of Intellectual Property

Intellectual property categories are either artistic or industrial. Industrial rights include inventions, trade names, logos, and scientific discoveries, all of which are typically protected by trademarks or patents. These type of rights protects against unfair competition for 20 years. Artistic rights include artwork, print, music, film, plays, and databases and data content, all of which receive copyright coverage. 

Data and methods of compiling and organizing data are not eligible for patent protection. However, data and databases fall under protected trade secrets because they drive economic value for a business.

Legal Foundations of Data Ownership and Control

While the question "is data intellectual property?" might seem straightforward, legally the answer is complex. Data is not inherently protected under traditional intellectual property laws like copyright or patents. Instead, its legal protection often hinges on four core frameworks:

  1. Contract Law – Agreements such as terms of service or data use policies dictate who may access and use data.
  2. Trade Secret Law – Proprietary data that is kept confidential and provides a business advantage may qualify as a trade secret.
  3. Copyright Law – While individual data points (e.g., facts) are not copyrightable, databases that involve original organization or selection may be protected.
  4. Regulatory Frameworks – Laws like GDPR and CCPA govern the use, sharing, and protection of personal data and can indirectly establish data control rights.

Organizations often use layered legal mechanisms to assert control over data even if they cannot claim outright ownership​​.

Fair Use

To use copyrighted material, you must obtain permission from the owner of the copyright. Sometimes, this permission will be freely granted, while other times requiring a payment. Using a copyrighted work without permission is fair use. An example of this is quoting from a copyrighted work in another book; this falls under fair use when including an attribution.

Who Owns Data and What Does Ownership Mean?

The notion of "owning" data is largely a matter of contractual and contextual rights, not absolute legal title. Data controllers (such as companies collecting user data) often exercise de facto ownership by defining access, storage, and distribution practices through contracts and internal governance.

It's critical to distinguish between:

  • Data Controllers: Those who determine the purposes and means of data processing.
  • Data Processors: Those who act on behalf of the controllers.
  • Data Subjects: Individuals whose data is being processed.

In most cases, the term "ownership" should be replaced with terms like "control," "custodianship," or "usage rights" to better reflect legal realities​​.

Frequently Asked Questions

  1. Is data considered intellectual property?
    Not typically. Raw data, especially factual information, does not qualify as intellectual property. However, organized datasets and proprietary data may receive protection under copyright or trade secret law.
  2. What are the legal protections for data?
    Data can be protected through contracts, trade secrets, copyright (in specific database contexts), and privacy regulations. Ownership is often tied to the control defined in legal agreements.
  3. Can you copyright a dataset?
    Only if the dataset shows a creative selection or arrangement of data. Copyright does not extend to the raw data itself, which is typically considered factual.
  4. What does it mean to own data?
    Data ownership often refers to the rights and responsibilities defined by contractual or regulatory means. True "ownership" in the legal sense rarely applies to data.
  5. How can businesses protect their data assets?
    By using strong contracts, keeping proprietary data confidential, applying appropriate data licenses, and ensuring compliance with data protection laws like GDPR and CCPA.

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