Background and Project Content

Modern IT-applications make use of data from many sources with different licencing. Therefore, it is challenging to find out whether an application complies with laws and regulations and whether the different licenses are compatible. Rights clearance in software development and data-engineering can easily become very complex and as consequence cost-intensive. Each component of a third party provider has its own terms of use and it needs to be checked in which ways they depend on each other and whether they are compatible. In such cases the DALICC Software Framework comes in handy. It helps to collect all necessary licenses, to provide essential information in an easy-to-understand manner (for laypersons), and to automatically detect incompatibilities. Consequently, DALICC not only ensures legal certainty but also contributes to a reduction in costs. 

Target groups

The DALICC software framework supports in identifying conflicts between licensing rights of different technical components even at the initial stages of an engineering process. In addition, DALICC helps to clarify which licenses are needed for publishing a new product. Primary target group for DALICC are data and software providers, data engineers and project managers, who are in involved in the development, reutilization and distribution of software components. A second target group are legal departments of companies and law firms, as DALICC can help them to reduce costs when dealing with license rights. Universities, research institutes and libraries, which manage their own software-,data or content repositories and are in need of legal certainty when integrating digital resources or making them available, are another target group.

Scope of functions

DALICC is conceptualized  designed as a one-stop shop for legal questions arising over the whole span of the licensing process. It offers different services (via the Web and an API), which can be combined individually depending on what is needed. In other words, DALICC is based on the principles of a software platform with a modular structure and interoperable subsystems and services, which can be tailored to the needs of different users. It includes…..
•    a license library containing open and closed licenses that can be easily accessed by laypersons. 
•    a license composer, which supports in creating “customized licences”.
•    a license checker to determine whether different combinations of licenses are compatible.
•    a website offering services for users, programming interfaces (API), user dashboards and documentations.
•    a license-wrapper that automatically extracts information about licenses from repositories and catalogues .

Result

Rights clearance is an essential, but due to its complexity often neglected aspect in software- and data engineering. DALICC simplifies this process, thereby enabling a legally watertight usage of digital resources. As legal compliance with regard to the internet gains in importance for commercial products but also for private users, DALICC closes a gap here. However, the technical set-up of the framework even makes it possible to extend it to other areas of law (e.g., data protection).

A publicly available demo version (TLR3) and APIs can be found at https://www.dalicc.net.