A landmark case that may change how Europe addresses use and re-use of public data has been won in the Netherlands. Landmark Nederland has been struggling for 3 years in court over access to public geospatial data they assembled on environmental risks such as contaminated land. Their obstacle was

the City of Amsterdam [which] sought substantial compensation for supplying the data and also wanted to limit its reuse, arguing a substantial investment had been made in compiling the original dataset. However, after three years of legal hearings, the Dutch Raad van State, the highest Administrative Court in the Netherlands, ruled that the City of Amsterdam does not bear the risk of investment in the database as this has to be provided and funded anyway as part of the City’s public task. Consequently, the City is not entitled to attach excessive financial conditions and limitations to the reuse of the data by Landmark.

Article: Landmark Nederland helps to secure future availability of public sector information.
Via: Vector One