Guidance for using data - NBN Documentation

Summary

Access to & use of material on the NBN Atlas is governed by the NBN Atlas Terms of Use
Data Partners retain ownership and control of their data
Content accessed through the NBN Atlas may be subject to specific terms and conditions imposed by the Data Partner
Data and images on the NBN Atlas have an associated licence outlining the circumstances under which the data can be used
There are three open licences CC0, CC-BY and OGL and data with these licences can be used for any purpose
Data with a CC-BY-NC licence cannot be used for commercial purposes
Using information gained by viewing data on the NBN Atlas for commercial purposes is a breach of the licence, i.e. the data does not have to be downloaded for the licence conditions to apply
Users who breach the licence conditions may be liable for a fixed charge

The NBN Atlas is a powerful resource that we want to be used to share, display and analyse data.

Most data providers are not under any obligation to share data via the NBN Atlas and if they believe that doing so could result in environmental damage or undermine their ability to fund their operations, they could withhold or withdraw data.

For this reason, it is a fundamental feature of the NBN that data providers retain ownership and control of their data, and are acknowledged and receive proper credit when their data are used in reports or documents. Without our data partners the NBN Atlas couldn’t exist so we take this seriously.

Here you can find guidance for using biological data made available via the NBN Atlas.

GENERAL GUIDELINES

Access to and use of material accessed through the NBN Atlas is governed by the NBN Atlas Terms of Use.

Any document or product that makes use of data from the NBN Atlas must contain a statement that the Data Provider, Original Recorder [where identified], and the NBN Trust bear no responsibility for any further analysis or interpretation of that material, data and/or information.
Content that you access through the NBN Atlas website may also be subject to specific terms and conditions imposed by a Data Partner (Data Partner Terms). These Data Partner Terms may include certain licences to use the content (see below)
A data download is not evidence of data ‘misuse’ or even of intention to ‘misuse’ data. However, we continue to take seriously proven contraventions of the NBN Atlas Terms of Use such as a report that contains data from the NBN Atlas without permission, acknowledgements, adherence to licence conditions or a waiver statement. Furthermore, breach of CC-BY-NC licence conditions may result in a fixed charge (see below) being levied against the user.

How do I know which data I can use?

All data on the NBN Atlas will have an associated licence, which outlines the circumstances under which the data can be used. The type of data licence assigned can be found in the dataset metadata and within any data download. Licence type can also be displayed on the interactive map and within the Spatial Portal.

The available data licences are CC0, CC-BY, CC-BY-NC, and OGL.

CC0: ‘No rights reserved’ licence. All data is in the public domain and can be used for any purpose
CC-BY: This licence allows others to use data, even commercially, as long as the original data creator is credited.
CC-BY-NC: These records can only be used for non-commercial purposes. The Data Partner and their dataset/s must be credited. Guidance on non-commercial use can be found here
OGL: Open government licence, similar to the CC-BY, this licence allows others to use data, even commercially, as long as the original data creator is credited.

If the data you wish to use is under a CC-BY-NC licence and your intended use is commercial, you can apply to the data provider for an exemption to the licence. Some data providers may charge for this.

N.B. Using information gained by viewing data on the NBN Atlas for commercial purposes is a breach of the CC-BY-NC licence, i.e. data does not have to have been downloaded for the licence conditions to apply.

Users who breach the licence conditions may be liable for a fixed charge.

More information on all of the available licences can be found on the Data Licences page.

NBN Atlas Citation where no records exist for an area

Please note in cases where the NBN Atlas has been checked and no records found this is not subject to a creative commons licence. The general citation below should be used.

NBN Trust ([Year]). The National Biodiversity Network (NBN) Atlas. https://nbnatlas.org/

Sensitive Species data

Occurrence records for species listed on a Sensitive Species List will only be publicly available with generalised location information. You can use the public location information under the licence conditions of the occurrence record, or you can request access to the supplied location information from the Data Partner who supplied the record/s to the NBN Atlas.

If access is granted data use will be under a Restricted Re-use licence, which is subject to conditions specified by the Data Partner and these must be adhered to.

More information can be found on the Sensitive species page.

Set public resolution datasets

Some datasets on the NBN Atlas are subject to a set public resolution specified by the Data Partner. Occurrence records in such datasets have generalised location information, according to the set resolution, e.g., grid references/coordinate uncertainty can be generalised up to 10km and location text is not public. You can request access to the supplied location information from the Data Partner. For further information on identifying datasets/occurrence records subject to a set public resolution and how to request access see the Overview of Access Controls page.

Terms of Use

See the full NBN Atlas Terms of Use