GFII responds to new French licence for public information re-use

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Posted by Mary Gianoli on 22 Apr 2010

Paris: 22 April 2010

The French Groupement Français de l’Industrie de l’Information (GFII)’s inter-agency working group on public data has issued a press release on the French Ministry of Justice’s publication of the simplified licence ‘public information freely re-usable’ – an initiative that encourages innovation.

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“The GFII interagency working group on public data press release states (approximate English translation) (French text online):

“The Ministry of Justice has published a simplified License - "Public information freely reusable (footnote 1.).

The preamble states that this license is intended to encourage the re-use of public information in the development of information society. This re-use of information from the Ministry is presented as free.

The institutions represented in the Working Group Public data support the proactive and innovative approach of the Ministry of Justice, which offers simple options, but framed for the re-use of information.

These conditions of re-use, based on licenses such as "Creative Commons" allow commercial re-use of public data, without consideration. The associations support the definition of commercial re-use, particularly concerning changes to information in new services and conditions for redistribution to third parties.

Associations take note of the principle of free implemented by this administration. This gratuity is an original move and timely to stimulate innovation. It will encourage, first, the emergence of new actors in the French digital economy and will, on the other hand, France to strengthen its position in the forefront of new global technology industry knowledge. It also promotes the development of new products and services, based on public information by signing a resolute logic of development of the information society.

However, the working group associations are aware that free is not applicable to all types of data, nor to all types of data producers. They wish, however, that the costs of provision under Directive 2003/98/EC are strictly justified and totally transparent.

Footnote Number 1 This initiative is part of the implementation of Law No. 78-753 of July 17, 1978 amended in 2005 imposing a reuse of public information.

Press Contact Ruth Martinez, General Delegate GFII Tel: 01 43 72 96 52 / 06 08 83 25 01 Email: gfii@wanadoo.fr

About the GFII Interagency Working Group on Public Data Association

Public information is a resource without any equivalent in terms of potential to create products or value-added services and develop new economic activities. The use of material from government presents real challenges for the development of the digital economy and the knowledge economy. GFII in 1997 created a working group devoted to the dissemination of public information. The GFII then expanded its activities by hosting other associations within this group.

The inter-group association includes the following associations:

ACSEL: association of digital players
AFIGEO: French Association for Geographic Information
FIGEC: National Federation of company information and receivables management
FING: New Generation Internet Foundation
GESTURE: Publishers Group Online Services
GFII: the market of information and knowledge
SPDG: Trade Association of Geomatics

The inter-association group brings together key economic actors involved: public and private stakeholders in all areas of information (legal, geographic, industrial property, company information, territorial, environmental, scientific ...) but all actors in the chain of information: information producers, public and private re-users, software that can exploit this information, business users, researchers ...

The GFII organized May 20, 2010 at the Maison de l'Europe a seminar entitled "liberation" of public information, a challenge for the development of the digital economy. A new global dynamic is running around Open Data movements, projects and data.gov type applications Apps for Democracy. At a time when many initiatives are developing in different countries under different models, the GFII wishes to deepen the economic aspect of this subject.

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