copyright licensing data-ownership copyright-transfer
Does a non exclusive non transferable data license allow the re-use of this data to be shared through a public API service?
<p>We are a commercial company that wants to offer easy access to EU geographic boundaries spatial data through an API service. The API service would be freely accessible for limited use. No charges are requested for the data itself. Very intensive users will be charged the cost for transfering the data, not for the data itself.</p>
<p>The data we are providing access through via the API is stored on our databases in the cloud. We have not created the data, it is downloaded from the EUROSTAT website. In addition to the general copyright and licence policy applicable to the whole Eurostat website, the following specific provisions apply to the datasets we have downloaded (source: <a href="https://ec.europa.eu/eurostat/web/gisco/geodata/reference-data/administrative-units-statistical-units" rel="nofollow noreferrer">https://ec.europa.eu/eurostat/web/gisco/geodata/reference-data/administrative-units-statistical-units</a>)</p>
<blockquote>
<p>The download and usage of these data is subject to the acceptance of
the following clauses:</p>
<ol>
<li>The Commission agrees to grant the non-exclusive and not transferable right to use and process the Eurostat/GISCO geographical
data downloaded from this page (the &quot;data&quot;).</li>
<li>The permission to use the data is granted on condition that:  (i) the data will not be used for commercial purposes; (ii) the source
will be acknowledged. A copyright notice, as specified below, will have to be visible on any
printed or electronic publication using the data downloaded from this page.</li>
</ol>
</blockquote>
<blockquote>
<p><strong>Copyright notice</strong></p>
</blockquote>
<blockquote>
<p>When data downloaded from this page is used in any
printed or electronic publication, in addition to any other provisions
applicable to the whole Eurostat website, data source will have to be
acknowledged in the legend of the map and in the introductory page of
the publication with the following copyright notice:</p>
<p>EN: © EuroGeographics for the administrative boundaries</p>
<p>FR: © EuroGeographics pour les limites administratives</p>
<p>DE: © EuroGeographics bezüglich der Verwaltungsgrenzen</p>
<p>For publications in languages other than English, French or German,
the translation of the copyright notice in the language of the
publication shall be used.</p>
</blockquote>
<p>I am assuming that this license does not prohibit the usage of the data as planned in our use case, since we have no plans of selling the data itself.</p>
<p>Is this assumption correct in your opinion?</p>
<p>Thank you for help.</p>

<p>&quot;data will not be used for commercial purposes&quot;. That's quite big in there. Selling the data is not the only commercial use. You are a commercial business, what other reason would you have to use the data other than commercial purposes? I'd ask a lawyer, and I'd ask the provider of the data, but it looks to me like full on copyright infringement.</p>

<h2>Your assumption is not correct</h2>
<p><em>Commercial</em> is much broader that <em>for profit</em>. The fact that you charge for data transfer, even at a loss, makes your use commercial.</p>
<p>Further, you describe yourself as a “commercial company”, so your use of the data, even internally, is <em>commercial</em>.</p>
