Under open data legislation, cultural heritage institutions, like other public sector information bodies, are obliged to make the data they hold and/or produce available for reuse, either upfront or upon request, when no sensitive information or third party intellectual property rights exist on this data.
The open data Directive seeks to ‘fully exploit the potential of public sector information for the European economy and society’. To achieve this, the Directive establishes a set of obligations for public sector bodies, including cultural heritage institutions, to share the data they hold and/or produce. This can be either by making data accessible upfront, or responding to requests. Data needs to be shared in formats that facilitate its reuse. The supply and use can be subject to fees, which need to be justified and made transparent. The Directive explicitly establishes that its obligations do not apply when third party intellectual property rights exist or in the case of documents containing sensitive information.
