Paris, 10 January 2011

The Agence du patrimoine immatériel de l'État (APIE) has released a study by the University of Strasbourg on 'optimal' pricing policies for PSI re-use. The study concludes that for non-commercial re-use of PSI the case for pricing is weak, and would likely strongly impact re-use, but that for commercial PSI re-use cases there may be instances where a pricing policy may be feasible without impeding adoption of re-use, especially in cases where the public institution involved has strong budget restraints itself. This pricing policy could according to the report be based on the effort made by the public institution in reworking the data to make re-use easier (as opposed to just releasing raw data e.g.). For commercial re-use the costs of this effort by the public institution could be seen as added value, and a basis for pricing.

We have approached the research team involved to also ask about method and set-up of the study, as pricing policies for PSI re-use are a source of hot debate, and being able to compare the origin of various conclusions and view points should prove to be valuable to that.

From the press statement by APIE:

(original in English, original in French)

"Opening public sector information for reuse furthers the goal of transparency in government, and in addition constitutes a powerful potential source of innovation and economic development. In a digital economy, PSI is a valuable raw material for creating new products and services. The economic potential of PSI has been confirmed by various European studies.

In 2005, when the French legislature transposed the European Directive on the Reuse of PSI into national law, it created a right to reuse PSI. The present challenge is to stimulate such reuse.

A team of economists of the Bureau of Theoretical and Applied Economics (Bureau d’Economie Théorique et Appliqué – BETA) of the University of Strasbourg recently conducted a study on this topic. Their report takes a new look at valuation models for the reuse of public sector information with a view to furthering dissemination.

The novelty of the BETA study lies in the numerous parameters it takes into account. Most other economic studies [1]consider PSI to be unprocessed, easily transferable, raw data for which demand is highly elastic. These studies also generally disregard the financial constraints confronting public entities. However, not all PSI has these characteristics. Furthermore, in the current economy, a useful policy analysis must allow for the severe budgetary restrictions imposed on public entities.

The BETA report takes these broader factors into account and suggests that to maximize dissemination of PSI and stimulate its reuse, the producers may have to add value to the PSI by modifying its format or adding and organizing content. The authors conclude that in times of tight budgets, the optimal policy may be to charge for commercial reuse at reasonable rates designed to cover the cost of the added value. This policy rightfully shifts a share of the costs of producing PSI from taxpayers to those who obtain a commercial benefit from using it outside its primary purpose. Significantly, this approach would not diminish the overall economic equilibrium of PSI reuse.

For non-commercial reuse, setting rates equal to the marginal cost of making the information available would be optimal in most cases, as the willingness to pay for this type of reuse is generally low. The study did not specifically address the case where public entities competes with private operators and/or are required to self-finance part of its budget"

Files available for download:

The management summary of this study in English (PDF)

The management summary of this study in French (PDF)

The full report of this study in French (PDF)

Related Links:

Topic Report 10: PSI Re-use in France

French PSI re-use licensing pictograms

PSI pricing overview (2007) published