ODBL License

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Open Food Facts data are released under the ODbL license. The ODbL License is widely used all around the world, in collaborative or public projects such as OpenStreetMap, OpenCorporates and many others.

To quickly understand the license, you can read its official summary.

Why is it important?

We are working hard to promote and realize food transparency. To do so, Open Food Facts has chosen to release all of its data under ODbL license, which promotes a common pot: all derivative or mixed data has to be shared by all contributors and reusers.

For the time being, ten thousands of contributors and dozens of organizations are collaboratively participating in this common pot. It creates a common ecosystem that benefits to all. This ecosystem is working as long as the common pot and its attribution is respected.

Open Food Facts respects people or organizations that doesn’t want, or are not allowed, to share their data in the common pot, or respect attribution, but consequently, they are not allowed to reuse Open Food Facts data: it is not allowed by the ODbL License and it would weaken the whole ecosystem.

ODbL Summary

We reproduce here parts of the official summary.

You are free:

  • To Share: To copy, distribute and use the database.
  • To Create: To produce works from the database.
  • To Adapt: To modify, transform and build upon the database.

As long as you:

  • Attribute: You must attribute any public use of the database, or works produced from the database, in the manner specified in the ODbL. For any use or redistribution of the database, or works produced from it, you must make clear to others the license of the database and keep intact any notices on the original database.
  • Share-Alike: If you publicly use any adapted version of this database, or works produced from an adapted database, you must also offer that adapted database under the ODbL.
  • Keep open: If you redistribute the database, or an adapted version of it, then you may use technological measures that restrict the work (such as DRM) as long as you also redistribute a version without such measures.

How to?

To clearly mention attribution, we suggest that you put the following text on each page or screen where Open Food Facts data is used: (c) Open Food Facts contributors, with a link to https://world.openfoodfacts.org/terms-of-use or https://world.openfoodfacts.org. Mention of attribution should be seen:

  • On the app's presentation page on the Google Play store or Apple app store.
  • On the app's presentation page on your website, if any.
  • On your app or your website: on each page or screen where you are showing data provided by Open Food Facts contributors.

To respect the Share-Alike clause, the best way is to share back all modified data or data mixed with Open Food Facts data, directly into Open Food Facts Database. There are different options depending on the volume.

  • If you only have small amounts of data, you can manually enhance the database, thanks to Open Food Facts apps or website.
  • If you have important amounts of data, you can use the Open Food Facts API to share back new data or data improvements.
  • You can also mass import your data, thanks to the "producer platform": please contact us at contact@openfoodfacts.org.

Tip

It is a good practice to put a small link to the equivalent product on Open Food Facts, that’s especially useful if some user spot an issue, and it does the ODbL compliance at the same time.

See also

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