| Abstract | (Summary)
A. Background to Version 2 of The Dissemination of Government Geographic Data in Canada : Guide to Best Practices The GeoConnections program ("GeoConnections") is a national
federally-funded program designed to link location-based information using the power of the Internet. To develop, support and deliver the Canadian Geospatial Data Infrastructure, GeoConnections relies strongly on a broad network of partners who are
developing the capabilities to disseminate geographic data on-line and to access such data from these partners. An integrated data licensing framework for geographic data is one of the cornerstones for building these capabilities. In the Winter of
2005, GeoConnections released version 1 of The Dissemination of Government Geographic Data in Canada : Guide to Best Practices ("Guide to Best Practices"). The culmination of months of effort and consultation led by the Data Licensing Guide Working
Group (the "DLGWG"), established under the auspices of the GeoConnections Policy Advisory Node,[1] Version 1 of the Guide to Best Practices set out an integrated framework for what was then recommended as constituting the three types of geographic
data dissemination and licensing models most commonly used in Canada, to be used for the purposes of licensing government geographic data. Continuous dialogue with government data licensing practitioners, users and industry highlighted the
prevalency of new distribution models for the dissemination of geographic data, made possible through the rapid development and technological advances in the field of web-based services, distributed computing and other user applications. The
benefits of these new technological advances on the dissemination of government geographic data, coupled with changes in government data dissemination policy mandated an examination of the currency, relevancy and comprehensiveness of the integrated
framework for the licensing of government geographic data as outlined in the first version of the Guide to Best Practices. In the Winter of 2007, the GeoConnections Secretariat revived the DLGWG, enlarged its membership and commenced work on Version
2 of the Guide to Best Practices. B. Methodology Version 2 of the Guide to Best Practices was completed using concurrent, multiple lines of inquiry involving research and feedback on the currency, relevancy and comprehensiveness of the
integrated framework for the licensing of government geographic data, as recommended in the initial Guide to Best Practices. These included: · feedback from licensing practitioners in federal departments and agencies; · feedback from users of
government geographic data and licensing practitioners in provincial and municipal governments; · feedback from the geomatics industry; and · review of relevant documents and literature. Broad-based consultation with government departments and
agencies involved in the production, use and/or licensing of government geographic data and the geomatics industry informed and guided the work of the DLGWG and the elaboration and articulation of the integrated framework for the licensing of
government geographic data recommended in this Version 2 of the Guide to Best Practices. C. Objectives of Version 2 of the Guide to Best Practices This version of the Guide to Best Practices complements the initial version through its
refinement of the integrated framework for the licensing of government geographic data recommended in 2005. It addresses distribution models that have emerged or increased in prevalence, including: · web-based distribution models which are
appropriate where the stated objective of a dissemination activity is to promote widest use possible of the licensed government geographic data, with no restrictions on further distribution. The Guide to Best Practices supports no-fee web-based
distribution of government geographic data, provided it is effected within the parameters articulated in the recommended model template No-Fee Unrestricted Use Web-Wrap Licence Agreement. With respect to web-based distribution on a fee basis, the
Guide to Best Practices acknowledges the availability, in law, of click-wrap agreements; however, for policy, contract and risk management reasons, it recommends that, in the context of an integrated approach to the licensing of government geographic
data, producers of government geographic data wishing to distribute their data on a fee basis refrain from entering into click-wrap agreements. Rather, it is advocated that fee-based licence agreements be entered into using traditional methods; the
delivery of the licensed government geographic data may, however, be done electronically, after signature of the applicable fee-based licence agreement. · the reseller model is appropriate where the stated objective of a dissemination activity
is to promote widest use possible of the licensed government geographic data through access to established distribution channels, with constraints on allowed uses so as to ensure the integrity of the licensed government geographic data. The
fundamental characteristics of the reseller model are articulated in a model template Reseller Agreement; · the value-added reseller model, which is appropriate where the stated objective of a dissemination activity is to promote the
incorporation of the licensed government geographic data into value-added products and its distribution through established channels. This distribution model, appropriate in certain defined circumstances, is articulated in a model template
Value-Added Reseller Agreement; · no-fee and fee-based distribution models, anchored in the Unrestricted Use Model and in the End-Use Model. The Guide to Best Practices presents and discusses how these two models support very distinct
dissemination objectives and require specific contractual provisions; · data sharing between federal departments and agencies, and between federal departments and agencies and other levels of government. Version 2 of the Guide to Best
Practices explains what type of documents should evidence such data sharing arrangements. It recommends two (2) model template Memoranda of Agreement for use when data is shared between federal departments and suggests the types of contractual
vehicles to be used to evidence arrangements between the federal government and other levels of government. Version 2 of the Guide to Best Practices replaces the 2005 version through its treatment of issues that are now at the forefront of matters
that are of vivid interest to government data licensing practioners. For example: · it addresses new federal data dissemination policy, as well as other overarching governmental policy positions that impact on the dissemination of government
geographic data; and · it discusses how the evolutive and transformative nature of geographic data, compounded with users' technological sophistication and expectations for technology-based data distribution have spurred significant industry
activity in a number of areas, including in relation to: · metadata and the development by industry of applications assisting in the development of metatada for geographic data; · web services; and · geographic digital rights
management Version 2 of the Guide to Best Practices sets out a revised integrated framework for the four types of government geographic data licensing models most commonly used in Canada - the unrestricted use model, the end-user model, the reseller
model and the value-added reseller model. It provides a rationale for appropriate uses, explains how each model builds on common structures, demonstrates their inter-relationships and provides clear guidance to assist licensing practitioners in
selecting the most appropriate model and licence agreement. Recommended approaches to fundamental concepts such as ownership of intellectual property, liability, duration and termination are discussed in detail for the benefit of licensing
practitioners, and are guided by data dissemination policy directives currently in force across federal departments and agencies. |