Licence Agreement

Download the Licence Agreement

In order to protect the respective interests of both parties, it is necessary to sign a legal document (the Licence Agreement). The Licence Agreement specifies the rights and responsibilities of both parties and authorises the UK Data Archive to preserve and to distribute the data collection under the terms and conditions specified.

• What do I have to do?
• What are the UK Data Archive's responsibilities under the Licence Agreement?
• What are my responsibilities under the Licence Agreement?
• Who will be allowed to use my data collection?
• Will I be held accountable for any errors or mistakes in the data collection or for any subsequent analysis of the data?
• Who should sign the agreement?
• Am I signing away my rights in the data collection?
• Does it prevent me from publishing or distributing my data collection in a different way?
• Can I find out who is using my data collection?

• read the Licence Agreement to make sure that you understand and agree with the terms and conditions
• select the access category that you wish the data collection to be distributed under
• sign and date the agreement in hard copy, keep a copy for your records and send the original to:

  Acquisitions
  UK Data Archive
  University of Essex
  Wivenhoe Park
  Colchester
  CO4 3SQ

• the UK Data Archive will ensure that access to the dataset is governed by the access conditions specified in the Licence Agreement
• users will be asked to sign an undertaking not to breach copyright by selling all or part of the data collection, or including it in a product which is subsequently sold
• users are required to acknowledge the Depositor when publishing anything based upon an analysis of the original data, and to say that the Depositor is not responsible for the quality of the work they have produced
• users will also be asked to agree not to attempt to identify any individuals whose details appear in the data, where this is relevant

The Licence Agreement asks the Depositor to guarantee that nothing in the data collection is illegal, and that the data collection does not breach privacy or data protection laws. It also asks for assurances that you are entitled to place the data collection in the Archive and that the agreement of all parties who may have an interest in the data collection has been obtained. The Depositor should ensure that anyone with copyright interest has been included in the Licence Agreement.

Most data owners allow their data to be used for non-commercial educational purposes by academics, researchers in research institutions, charitable bodies, local and central government and other public organisations. In some cases, data owners allow their data collection to be used by anyone without restriction (in these cases, the right to be asserted as owner of the data collection remains, as do all moral rights). In other cases, they allow their dataset to be used by commercial organisations subject to payment of royalties. At a minimum, the UK Data Archive requires data owners to allow access to their data collection for non-commercial educational purposes, but preferably to allow access without restrictions or exclusions. We recognise that some data owners may require restrictions on access for a (specified) limited period of time or, for a longer period if the data collection content is of a sensitive nature. In these cases, contact the Acquisitions team at acquistions@esds.ac.uk to discuss alternative access conditions.

No, the licence does not require you to guarantee accuracy in the data, nor take any responsibility for any subsequent analysis of the data collection.

The agreement should be signed by the owner of the data collection, or in the case of institutions or organisations, it should be signed by a person authorised by that institution or organisation to sign such agreements.

No, the Licence Agreement makes sure that you retain ownership in the data collection and can continue to use it in any way you choose.

No, you remain free to enter into other agreements for distribution or to develop distribution mechanisms yourself. However, deposit with the UK Data Archive relieves you of the administrative and technical burdens associated with distribution.

Yes, the Archive keeps records of who is using each data collection. If you wish to see these records, you may ask for a report detailing usage.