ODCODbL

ODCODbL is an open standard and registry designed to improve the interoperability and clarity of licensing, provenance, and quality metadata for open data assets. The standard provides a common schema for describing datasets, the licenses that govern them, attribution requirements, and data quality indicators, enabling both humans and machines to assess permissions and use conditions.

Core concepts include Dataset, License, Provenance, and Quality. Metadata fields cover dataset identifier, title, publisher, license and license_url, rights_summary, provenance_source, update_frequency, format, access_url, and a quality_score. The schema emphasizes machine readability, using formats such as JSON-LD and RDF, with compatibility to SPDX license identifiers or an ODCODbL license registry.

Origin and development: ODCODbL emerged from a community collaboration among universities, open-data advocates, and government portals in the mid-2010s and was formalized by the ODCODbL Consortium. It has evolved through public release cycles, with a governance process that invites submissions, validation, and versioning.

Implementation and adoption: Several national and municipal data portals support ODCODbL metadata exports and DCAT-compatible catalogs, enabling cross-portal search and licensing compatibility checks. The standard is designed to be minimally opinionated about license terms, leaving legal interpretation to publishers and users while providing clear metadata.

Limitations and criticism: As with any licensing framework, actual legal rights depend on the licenses and applicable laws. ODCODbL relies on accurate publisher input and widespread adoption to be effective; license compatibility and enforcement are outside the scope of the standard.