Open Knowledge. Access and Re-Use of Research Data in the European Union Open Data Directive and the Implementation in Italy

This paper provides initial observations on the inclusion of scientific research data in the scope of the EU Public Sector Information Directive of 2019, Directive (EU) 2019/1024, also known as the Open Data Directive, related rules for the re-use of such data enshrined in Art 10, and the implementation in Italy with the decreto legislativo 8 November 2021 no 200. The work seeks to examine how the EU Public Sector Information rules on research data – and, to a lesser extent, data from cultural establishments – may contribute to the objectives of Open Knowledge, elected as an umbrella term with primary reference to Open Access, Open Science, and Open Data, given the difficulties of identifying exhaustive conceptual contours for them.

In order to do so, the paper critically examines the exemptions and safeguards related to Intellectual Property and Personal Data protection and identifies the circumstances under which these may obstruct the re-use of research data.