New resource: Data licensing

The Global Ecosystems Atlas published a commentary on the importance of intellectual property and data licensing for ecosystem mapping. The article summarises the copyright status of the Global Ecosystems Atlas data catalogue, and provides recommendations to data providers to license their data in a way that stimulates uptake and reuse.

Abstract

To be accurate and useful, global ecosystem maps must bring together local expertise from various sources. Unclear data licensing conditions are a major obstacle to such efforts. Custodians of ecosystem information should be explicit about how their data can be reused.

Citation

Buschke F, Patterson D, Cresswell BJ, Gros-Dubois N, Lloyd TJ, Gomersall L, Young AR, Gevorgyan Y, Murray NJ. (2026) Ambiguous data licences undermine global ecosystem mapping efforts. PLoS Ecosystems. 1(1):e0000017. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pesy.0000017