title: Neuroscience data and tool sharing: a legal and policy framework for neuroinformatics.
abstract: The requirements for neuroinformatics to make a significant impact on neuroscience are not simply technical--the hardware, software, and protocols for collaborative research--they also include the legal and policy frameworks within which projects operate. This is not least because the creation of large collaborative scientific databases amplifies the complicated interactions between proprietary, for-profit R&D and public "open science." In this paper, we draw on experiences from the field of genomics to examine some of the likely consequences of these interactions in neuroscience. Facilitating the widespread sharing of data and tools for neuroscientific research will accelerate the development of neuroinformatics. We propose approaches to overcome the cultural and legal barriers that have slowed these developments to date. We also draw on legal strategies employed by the Free Software community, in suggesting frameworks neuroinformatics might adopt to reinforce the role of public-science databases, and propose a mechanism for identifying and allowing "open science" uses for data whilst still permitting flexible licensing for secondary commercial research.
authors.affiliation: Department of Computer Science & Software Engineering, Intellectual Property Research Institute of Australia, The University of Melbourne. pde@cs.mu.oz.au
authors.forename: Peter
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Eckersley
authors.forename: Gary F
authors.initials: GF
authors.lastname: Egan
authors.forename: Shun-ichi
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Amari
authors.forename: Francesco
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Beltrame
authors.forename: Rob
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Bennett
authors.forename: Jan G
authors.initials: JG
authors.lastname: Bjaalie
authors.forename: Turgay
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Dalkara
authors.forename: Erik
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: De Schutter
authors.forename: Carmen
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Gonzalez
authors.forename: Sten
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Grillner
authors.forename: Andreas
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Herz
authors.forename: K Peter
authors.initials: KP
authors.lastname: Hoffmann
authors.forename: Iiro P
authors.initials: IP
authors.lastname: Jaaskelainen
authors.forename: Stephen H
authors.initials: SH
authors.lastname: Koslow
authors.forename: Soo-Young
authors.initials: SY
authors.lastname: Lee
authors.forename: Line
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Matthiessen
authors.forename: Perry L
authors.initials: PL
authors.lastname: Miller
authors.forename: Fernando Mira
authors.initials: FM
authors.lastname: da Silva
authors.forename: Mirko
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Novak
authors.forename: Viji
authors.initials: V
authors.lastname: Ravindranath
authors.forename: Raphael
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Ritz
authors.forename: Ulla
authors.initials: U
authors.lastname: Ruotsalainen
authors.forename: Shankar
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Subramaniam
authors.forename: Arthur W
authors.initials: AW
authors.lastname: Toga
authors.forename: Shiro
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Usui
authors.forename: Jaap
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: van Pelt
authors.forename: Paul
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Verschure
authors.forename: David
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Willshaw
authors.forename: Andrzej
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Wrobel
authors.forename: Yiyuan
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Tang
mesh_terms: D019295:Computational Biology / Q000331:legislation & jurisprudence* / Q000458:organization & administration*; D016208:Databases, Factual / Q000331:legislation & jurisprudence*; D006801:Humans; D009488:Neurosciences / Q000639:trends*; D011050:Policy Making