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Published on: January 22, 2011
Ownership of research data
1Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, Maryland 21218.
Summary
Institutions, not employees, own research data under the "works for hire" doctrine. Ethical issues, not legal ones, complicate data ownership and access, requiring clear institutional policies.
Area of Science:
- Scientific Research
- Intellectual Property Law
- Research Ethics
Background:
- The conventional 'works for hire' principle dictates that institutions own intellectual property created by their employees, including research data.
- Legal aspects of data ownership are settled, but ethical considerations surrounding data access and usage remain contentious.
- Existing case law indicates researchers may not have a legal right to access a colleague's data.
Purpose of the Study:
- To review the legal and ethical complexities of research data ownership and access.
- To highlight the distinction between legal and ethical dimensions of data disputes.
- To propose guidelines for institutional data ownership policies.
Main Methods:
- Review of legal principles, specifically the 'works for hire' doctrine.
- Analysis of ethical challenges in scholarly data sharing and access.
- Examination of case histories illustrating data ownership disputes.
Main Results:
- The 'works for hire' principle is legally established, assigning data ownership to institutions.
- Ethical disagreements persist regarding data access and usage, stemming from a lack of consensus on scholarly conduct.
- Current legal precedents do not grant researchers automatic rights to colleagues' data.
Conclusions:
- Institutions must establish clear, explicit policies on research data ownership.
- Developing consensus on ethical conduct is crucial for resolving data access debates.
- Clear institutional guidelines can mitigate legal and ethical challenges in research data management.
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