Purpose
1 The State Services Commission recognises that State Services[1] agencies’ licensing of public sector copyright works for re-use on liberal terms and otherwise enabling greater access to their information and data may:
- bring about creative, social and economic benefits for the people of New Zealand; and
- foster greater transparency of government agencies’ performance.
2 It agrees with the following statement made by the Council for the Humanities Te Whainga Aronui when responding to a Discussion Paper released to departments and others earlier this year for feedback.
“Now more than ever is there a very present need to bring information the Government holds on behalf of its people into the public domain so that it may be used in ways that stimulate innovation, generate cultural creativity, social interaction and dialogue, while also kick starting economic growth.”
3 With a view to enabling the realisation of such benefits and fostering such transparency, the State Services Commission (SSC), in collaboration with the Information and Communications Technologies Group of the Department of Internal Affairs (DIA), has prepared this draft New Zealand Government Open Access and Licensing framework (NZGOAL). In essence, NZGOAL:
- sets out a series of open access and open licensing principles, for non-copyright information and data and copyright works, respectively;
- advocates the use of:
- clear “no known rights” statements for non-copyright information and data released for re-use; and
- Creative Commons licences for those State Services agencies’ copyright works which are appropriate for release and re-use; and
- sets outs out a review and release process to help guide agencies through the review of material they consider ought to be released for re-use and the manner of its release.
4 NZGOAL is being released as a draft because it is recognised that it:
- needs to be road-tested; and
- is likely to be improved through further feedback from agencies and members of the public.
5 We want to listen to what users of government information, data and copyright works have to say about the draft. Have we pitched it right? Are we meeting the needs and interests of those who wish to re-use government information and data? Is anything unclear? In what additional ways may we be able to help?
Scope
6 NZGOAL applies to State Services agencies. It covers both:
- non-copyright information and data; and
- copyright works,
that are held by such agencies, appropriate for release to the public or sections of the public and which those agencies are entitled to:
- in the case of non-copyright information and data, release for re-use; or
- in the case of copyright works, license (or sub-license) for re-use.
7 NZGOAL does not limit or otherwise affect the obligations of any agency or the rights of any person under the Official Information Act 1982, the Public Records Act 2005, the Privacy Act 1993 or any other legislation. NZGOAL does not apply to personal information.
8 While NZGOAL does apply to datasets, it does not apply to software which, for example, an agency owns and may wish to release on open source terms. In such circumstances open source software licences are more appropriate than the NZGOAL licences.
Status
9 NZGOAL is recommendatory in nature. State Services agencies are strongly encouraged but not obliged to comply with it.
10 It is hoped that agencies will:
- embrace NZGOAL;
- open up access to more of their non-copyright information and data that may be of interest to the public; and
- license more of their copyright works on liberal terms,
bearing in mind the potential benefits of doing so for both the public and agencies alike.
11 Just as a cultural shift within agencies was required to give effect to SSC’s Guidelines on the Treatment of Intellectual Property Rights in ICT Contracts [2], so too is a cultural shift required within agencies to give effect to the letter and spirit of NZGOAL.
Audiences
12 NZGOAL has been prepared with a view to recognising and, where possible, meeting the needs and interests of:
- the public of New Zealand;
- specific groups of society, including:
- Māori and other indigenous groups; and
- developers in the online space; and
- State Services agencies.
Additional guidance notes
13 It is anticipated that additional guidance notes will be released over time which:
- explore, in greater detail, some of the issues addressed or raised in this NZGOAL; and
- address operational or technical issues which arise in practice, whether on the part of State Services agencies that are implementing NZGOAL or members of the public who are re-using information, data and copyright works released in accordance with NZGOAL.
14 Agencies and members of the public may recommend appropriate subjects for such guidance notes by emailing nzgoal@ssc.govt.nz. Please note, however, that neither SSC nor DIA will be providing legal advice to members of the public in response to such recommendations.
[1] For a definition of the State Services, see the SSC website at http://www.ssc.govt.nz/glossary/#S.
[2] http://www.e.govt.nz/policy/ipr/
