# Licenses

Not all data that is openly available on the web is open data. Sometimes it is just 'publicly available data'. To be 'open data' and useable for any (legal) purpose, the data needs to be clearly accompanied by a relevant open data licence. Such licences define what others can and can not do with the data you publish. Not clearly indicating the terms and conditions under which your data can be used will almost certainly have a chilling effect on its use, as responsible data reusers may be unwilling to use such data.&#x20;

[**Publisher’s Guide to Open Data Licensing** ](https://theodi.org/article/publishers-guide-to-open-data-licensing/)**| Open Data Institute**

* Introduction to licensing for open data
* This can help you understand what data you are allowed to store, and what you are allowed to openly publish
* _<mark style="color:green;">‘If you have ownership of a work, and someone else wants to use it, they have to ask your permission. Licences are how you explicitly give someone else permission to use that work.’</mark>_

[**How to choose an open data license**](https://koordinates.com/guides/how-choose-open-data-license/) **| Koordinates**

* Includes a clear description of creative commons licences and the difference between the four licence elements of _Attribution_, _ShareAlike_, _No-Derivatives_ and _Non-Commercial_

[**Choose a License**](https://creativecommons.org/choose/) **| Creative Commons**

* Useful step-through to help you choose which CC licence is best for you
* Includes the option of an icon to use on your website along the data

[**Conformant Licenses**](https://opendefinition.org/licenses/) **| Open Definition from the Open Knowledge Foundation**

* List of all the licences that conform to the Open Knowledge Foundation’s definition of an open licence.
* Also includes an API to pull structured information about each of these licences
* This can useful if you encounter a licence elsewhere and are unsure whether its suitable or not

[**Using geospatial data: a guide to licences**](https://theodi.org/projects-services/projects/using-geospatial-data-a-guide-to-licences/) **| Open Data Institute**

* The ODI published this guide to help people understand different types of licences
* It has 17 example use cases of geospatial data, and discusses what licence is most suitable and why
