Public Domain Dedication and License (PDDL)

The current version of the PDDL is v1.0

NB: When using the PDDL you may wish to associate a set of complementary Community Norms.

How to Apply

To apply the PDDL to your material you should insert prominently in all relevant locations a statement such as:

This {DATA(BASE)-NAME} is made available under the Public Domain Dedication and License version {insert-version} whose full text can be found {LINK-TEXT}

Where: {DATA(BASE)-NAME} is the name of your data(base) and {LINK-TEXT} is one of:

  1. “below” — if you have copied full license inline at that location.
  2. “in file X” — if full license text copied into a file X which is distributed along with the database.
  3. “online at: {insert url (including version) of the license on the Open Data Commons site}”

We strongly recommend using option 1 or 2, that is copying the text of the PDDL and releasing with the database, either as a part of the database, or as a file released alongside the database.

Why do we recommend this? Dedicating your work to the public domain is a pretty big deal, especially in comparison to just licensing it: It means you completely give up your rights over the work. This can be a new area of the law in many jurisdictions, and so it is clearer that you dedicate your work if you do some sort of act, other than simply linking to the text, that shows you read the text of the PDDL and understood that by using it you dedicate your work to the public domain.