Case Studies/Netherlands Government
Rijksoverheid.nl is (as we know) the first government site to make content available under CC0, which means that the content as public domain status is granted... The government thus provides a signal that it is serious about the open sharing of (public) information. — Martin Arnold, CC Netherlands (http://creativecommons.nl/2010/03/31/rijksoverheid-in-het-publieke-domein/)
Overview
The Netherlands government launched www.rijksoverheid.nl, a single website for all Dutch ministries, in March 2010. The default copyright policy for site content is that there is no copyright; using the CC0 public domain dedication, the government relinquished any copyrights in the site. The purpose of www.rijksoverheid.nl is to establish one central location or portal through which all government organizations and ministries can be accessed by the public. The migration process is currently underway.
License Usage
The Netherlands government opted not to use one of the CC licenses, but to surrender copyright via the CC0 public domain dedication.
Motivations
Media
Creative Commons Licensing for Public Sector Information: Opportunities and Pitfalls
"This study examined that hypothesis and highlights the major opportunities and pitfalls of the Creative Commons model for public sector information. It assesses where there is a match between the creative commons model and the principles of freedom of information law and the Public Sector Information Directive (EC Directive 2003/98 on the re-use of public sector information) as implemented in the new chapter V-A of the Dutch Freedom of Information Act (Wet Openbaarheid van Bestuur). The assessment was made not only at the more principled, abstract level, but also at the level of the individual licensing terms. It is preceded by an analysis of government information as subject of intellectual property rights, under the Dutch Copyright Act and the Database Act." --Paul Keller, CC Netherlands
