Open Data and the Commons

Open data and the Commons

an old story? by Simon Chignard:

"There is a direct link between the open data movement and the philosophy of common goods. Open data are an illustration of the notion of common informational goods proposed by Elinor Ostrom, winner of the 2009 Nobel Prize for economics. Open data belong to everyone and, unlike water and air (and other common goods), they are non-exclusive: their use by one does not prevent others. If I reuse an open data set, this does not prevent other reusers from doing so. This proximity between the commons and open data is also suggested by the presence of the initiator of Creative Commons licences, Lawrence Lessig, at the 2007 Sebastopol meeting in which the concept of open data itself was defined.

But despite the strong conceptual and historical linkages, it seems that we, as actors of open data, are often shy to reaffirm the relationship. In our efforts to encourage public and private bodies to embrace open data, we seem almost embarrassed of this cornerstone philosophy. The four proposals I make here aim at one thing: not letting it drop!" (http://blog.okfn.org/2013/01/10/4-ideas-for-defending-the-open-data-commons/)