Science. 2019 Jan 25;363(6425):350-352. doi: 10.1126/science.aaw1280.
Toward unrestricted use of public genomic data.
Amann RI1, Baichoo S1, Blencowe BJ1, Bork P1, Borodovsky M1, Brooksbank C1, Chain PSG1, Colwell RR1, Daffonchio DG1, Danchin A1, de Lorenzo V1, Dorrestein PC1, Finn RD1, Fraser CM1, Gilbert JA1, Hallam SJ1, Hugenholtz P1, Ioannidis JPA2, Jansson JK1, Kim JF1, Klenk HP1, Klotz MG1, Knight R1, Konstantinidis KT1, Kyrpides NC1, Mason CE1, McHardy AC1, Meyer F1, Ouzounis CA1, Patrinos AAN1, Podar M1, Pollard KS1, Ravel J1, Muñoz AR1, Roberts RJ1, Rosselló-Móra R1, Sansone SA1, Schloss PD1, Schriml LM1, Setubal JC1, Sorek R1, Stevens RL1, Tiedje JM1, Turjanski A1, Tyson GW1, Ussery DW1, Weinstock GM1, White O1, Whitman WB1, Xenarios I1.
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Despite some notable progress in data sharing policies and practices, restrictions are still often placed on the open and unconditional use of various genomic data after they have received official approval for release to the public domain or to public databases. These restrictions, which often conflict with the terms and conditions of the funding bodies who supported the release of those data for the benefit of the scientific community and society, are perpetuated by the lack of clear guiding rules for data usage. Existing guidelines for data released to the public domain recognize but fail to resolve tensions between the importance of free and unconditional use of these data and the “right” of the data producers to the first publication. This self-contradiction has resulted in a loophole that allows different interpretations and a continuous debate between data producers and data users on the use of public data. We argue that the publicly available data should be treated as open data, a shared resource with unrestricted use for analysis, interpretation, and publication.
- PMID: 30679363