The Impact of Intellectual Property Law on Access to, Dissemination and Use of Citizen Science Research

The term “citizen science” can be used to describe a very broad range of activities in support of scientific research. Bowser and Shanley have defined it as “a form of collaboration where members of the public... [ view full abstract ]

The term “citizen science” can be used to describe a very broad range of activities in support of scientific research. Bowser and Shanley have defined it as “a form of collaboration where members of the public participate in scientific research to meet real world goals”. (Bowser & Shanley, 2013, 45) As with many other definitions of citizen science, the primary relationship appears to be that between the members of the public who participate, on the one hand, and the researchers on the other. Yet the relationships are infinitely more complex, particularly when they are considered in terms of rights to access, disseminate and use the research output. The web of relationships common to science research include (but are not limited to) those between researchers and their institutions; researchers and their funders; researchers and participants; researchers/participants and the technological platform used to carry out the project; and researchers and the journals that publish research results.
The rights to access, disseminate and use the output of scientific research are intrinsically tied to the law regarding ownership of intangible intellectual property (IP). Ownership of IP rights is, in turn, affected by different relationships and how they are structured. In this presentation we explore 1) how ownership of all or parts of citizen science research projects may be determined by IP law; 2) where ownership rights are located; 3) how ownership is negotiated at different stages of the development and execution of citizen science projects; and 4) what the consequences of IP rights, their location, and their negotiation, have on rights to use, share or access research results.