[od-discuss] New IMF license for data re-use

Tue Jan 20 17:17:03 UTC 2015

Unfortunate they haven't adopted a policy similar to that used by World 
Bank for data, which is one of the best I've seen from an IGO so far, 
though they do have this provision:  "The World Bank will prosecute, to the 
fullest extent of the law, any use of World Bank Materials in a manner that 
falsifies, misrepresents, disparages or fraudulently uses the Materials."

Here, the noncommercial limitation, "accuracy" requirement, and the vague 
requirement to use reasonable efforts to promote compliance by third 
parties are the more problematic clauses IMO.

For reference:  
WB terms of use summary for data:  
http://data.worldbank.org/summary-terms-of-use
In full:  
http://web.worldbank.org/WBSITE/EXTERNAL/0,,contentMDK:22547097~pagePK:50016803~piPK:50016805~theSitePK:13,00.html

On Thu, Jan 15, 2015 at 2:50 PM, Anders Pedersen <anderspeders at gmail.com> 
wrote:

> Hi everyone, 
>
> In december IMF announced that they would release their data openly.  
>
> They have now release a Special Terms section on use of their data. I 
> would be interested to hear the views here of the list?
>
> Full section here (relevant section pasted below): 
> http://www.imf.org/external/terms.htm
>
> On a side note, NRGI has argued that the fiscal models at IMF 
> <http://www.resourcegovernance.org/news/blog/modeling-masses-why-imf-should-open-fari-model-public-use> 
> should be opened as well, though until we've had no luck with that. 
>
> Below the Special Terms on data: 
> SPECIAL TERMS AND CONDITIONS PERTAINING TO THE USE OF DATA
>
> Use of published statistical data which is made available through the IMF 
> Sites shall be subject to the following special terms. For the purposes of 
> these special terms, the term “Data” refers to any published statistical 
> data produced by the IMF, that is not owned by a third-party. In 
> particular, “Data” refers to the following:
>
>    - IMF E-library Data, including but not limited to, International 
>    Financial Statistics (IFS), Balance of Payments (BOP), Direction of Trade 
>    (DOT) and Government Finance Statistics (GFS) (
>    http://elibrary-data.imf.org/DataExplorer.aspx);
>    
>    - World Economic Outlook database (
>    http://www.imf.org/external/pubs/ft/weo/2014/02/weodata/index.aspx);
>    
>    - Primary Commodity Prices (
>    http://www.imf.org/external/np/res/commod/index.aspx);
>    
>    - IMF Financial Data (http://www.imf.org/external/data.htm#financial);
>    
>    - Exchange Rate Data (http://www.imf.org/external/data.htm#exchange); 
>    and
>    
>    - And any other statistical data available on www.imf.org that 
>    explicitly identify the International Monetary Fund as the source.
>
> The policy of free access and free reuse does not imply a right to obtain 
> confidential or any unpublished underlying data over which the IMF reserves 
> all rights. Notwithstanding the general prohibition on the commercial use 
> of IMF content, Users may download, extract, copy, create derivative works, 
> publish, distribute and sell Data obtained from IMF Sites, subject to the 
> following conditions:
>
>    - When Data is distributed or reproduced, it must appear accurately 
>    and attributed to the IMF as the source, e.g. “Source: International 
>    Monetary Fund.”. This source attribution requirement is attached to any use 
>    of IMF Data, whether obtained directly from the IMF or from a User. Users 
>    who make IMF Data available to other users through any type of distribution 
>    or download environment agree to take reasonable efforts to communicate and 
>    promote compliance by their End Users with these terms.
>    
>    - The Data is provided to Users “as is” and without warranty of any 
>    kind, either express or implied, including, without limitation, warranties 
>    of merchantability, fitness for a particular purpose and noninfringement.
>    
>    - If IMF Data is sold by Users as a standalone product; sellers must 
>    inform purchasers that the Data is available free of charge from the IMF.
>    
>    - Users shall not infringe upon the integrity of the Data and in 
>    particular shall refrain from any act of alteration of the Data that 
>    intentionally affects its nature or accuracy. If the Data is materially 
>    transformed by the User, this must be stated explicitly along with the 
>    required source citation.
>
> All other terms set forth in the general terms and conditions shall 
> continue to apply to use of IMF Data.
>
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-- 
Diane M. Peters
General Counsel, Creative Commons
Portland, Oregon
http://creativecommons.org/staff#dianepeters
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