FAQ's Terms of Use - DATA GO JP

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FAQ's Terms of Use

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What is metadata?

"Metadata"is data about a piece of data; it is not the data itself. For example, metadataincludes the title, creation date, creator, and format of the data.
Inthe Data Catalog Site, the metadata is the titles and URLs of the datasets andresources, as well as the creator, update frequency, format, file size, etc.This is all listed as additional information on lower part of the screen thatdisplays datasets and resources.

What is a Creative Commons license?

A Creative Commons License (CC License)is a tool that enables copyright holders to clearly indicate their intentionsregarding the conditions for and scope of free use of their works. It is astandardized license or a method of making a license statement offered byCreative Commons, an international non-profit organization.
Reference: Creative Commons Japan Website(http://creativecommons.jp/(Note: The underlined portion is a link.)

The Creative Commons license is widely adopted andreferred to in overseas countries with open data initiatives. It is being usedby the Ministry of Internal Affairs and Commissions in its open data initiativefor the White Paper Information andCommunications in Japan (fiscal year 2010 to 2013) and in the Open DATA METIwebsite operated by the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry.

A national government with open data initiatives must create a clear andconsistent statement of its stance to broadly permit the secondary usage ofworks to which it owns the copyright. Thus, with the aim of specifying theconditions of use concerning copyright, the Data Catalog Site has decided touse the CC License—specifically the CC-BY, which authorizes secondary use onthe condition that proper credit is given to the original author.

Are numerical data and data in simple tables and graphs protected by copyright?

The Copyright Act stipulates in item (i), paragraph (1) of Article 2 that "work"means a production in which thoughts or sentiments are expressed in a creativeway and which falls within the literary, scientific, artistic, or musicaldomain. Mere facts and data do not fall under this definition, and aretherefore excluded from copyright protection.

Data that does not fall under the definition of creative expression is referred toas "numerical data and data in simple tables and graphs." (Pleasenote that numerical data does not refer to all forms of digital data.)

How should we display credit if we use data under the CC-BY license?

Inaccordance with CC License Attribution 2.1 Japan(http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.1/jp/), the source should be explicitly indicated in the following manner inthe case of using any work that requires the specification of the source. (Inthe square brackets ([ ]), enter the Publisher and the name of the resource asshown in the metadata of the dataset.)

(1) Whendata is replicated without editing or processing

[DatasetPublisher], [Resource Name], CC License Attribution 2.1 Japan(http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.1/jp/), Terms of Use of the DataCatalog Site (http://www/data.go.jp/terms-of-use/terms-of-use/)

(2) Whenthe data is edited or processed before use

Thiswork has been modified from the work specified below. (Note: The term "work"should be replaced as appropriate with "application," "database,"etc., according to the content created.)

[DatasetPublisher], [Resource Name], CC License Attribution 2.1 Japan(http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.1/jp/), Terms of Use of the DataCatalog Site (https://www.data.go.jp/terms-of-use/terms-of-use/)

Note: Instead of indicatingthe license URL as text, it is possible to incorporate a hyperlink into, forexample, the text string of "CC License Attribution 2.1 Japan".

What should we do if we want to use content of which a party other than the national government of Japan owns the copyright or other right?

Users are required to obtain alicense to use suchcontent from the holder of the copyrightor other right, ontheir own responsibility.

Inprinciple, the Data Catalog Site does not specify or explicitly indicatewhether the right to any given portion of the content is owned by a thirdparty. However, if it is evident that a resource is entirely the work of aparty other than the national government of Japan, this fact will be indicatedin the copyright section of the metadata. Users are asked to take appropriateaction in consideration of the content, such as providing a citation oracknowledging the sources of photographs, diagrams, and equivalents.

What is the meaning of the precautions "Users must observe relevant laws and ordinances when using the content of this website" in paragraph (3) of Article 2; and "The use of some relevant content is restricted due to specific laws and ordinances" in 4) i) of the Government of Japan Standard Terms of Use (Version 1.1)?

Licensespursuant to the Terms of Use of this website (CC License Attribution 2.1 Japanand the Government of Japan Standard Terms of Use (Version 1.1)) do not affectthe regulations and procedures of other laws and ordinances.

Please note that this does not mean that matters prohibited by laws and ordinancesother than the Copyright Act can be dissolved, or that procedures that arestipulated under other laws and ordinances can be omitted.

With regard to the provision "Even in the case of using certain data such as numerical data, data in simple tables or graphs, etc., to which the CC License does not apply, please display the source of such data," what should users do when it is difficult to judge whether or not the data is not subject to the CC License?

When it is difficult to judge, please use such datain accordance with the CC License (that is, citethe source).

What are the differences between the separately attached "Government of Japan Standard Terms of Use (Version 1.1; Expanded Content Publishers Version)" and the "Government of Japan Standard Terms of Use (Version 1.0)"?

Forthe Government of Japan Standard Terms of Use (Version 1.1; the ExpandedContent Publishers Version), users can access the conditions of use for dataincluded in the data catalog without visiting the websites of the relevantministries or agencies. This is due to the establishment, as a separateattachment that forms part of the Terms of Use, of Version 1.1 in response toArticle 7 of the Terms of Use, which stipulates that "if the Terms of Useof such other websites differ from those of these Terms of Use, these Terms ofUse will prevail."

The mainpoints in the Government of Japan Standard Terms of Use (Version 1.1; theExpanded Content Publishers Version) are as follows:

Nochanges have been made from the Government of Japan Standard Terms of Use(Version 1.0) as far as content isconcerned. (The basic conditionsremain the statement of citation or sources, prohibition of use against lawsand ordinances, public order, and morals, etc.)

Wehave used terminology that corresponds to the fact that the applicable targetsare data disclosed in the data catalog (for example, using metadata to provide relatedinformation).

On the assumption that thedata catalog will also disclose the data of local public organizations, we have used the term "publisher" in lieu of "nationalgovernment."