1. Purpose

This policy outlines the open-data licensing framework governing all datasets, articles, maps, and civic information published by PakPedia.

It ensures transparency, promotes educational reuse, and safeguards the integrity of information shared under Pakistan’s civic knowledge standards.

2. Commitment to Open Data

PakPedia operates as a public-interest platform providing open civic and governance data.

All materials are designed to be freely accessible, reusable, and shareable, in alignment with the Open Knowledge Foundation (OKFN) and Creative Commons principles.

Our objective is to make governance information understandable and reusable without restrictions on non-commercial or academic use.

3. License Framework

Unless otherwise noted, all PakPedia content and datasets are made available under the

Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International License (CC BY-SA 4.0).

This license allows anyone to:

• Share — copy and redistribute material in any medium or format.
• Adapt — remix, transform, and build upon the material for any purpose, including education.
• Attribute — give appropriate credit and link to the original PakPedia source.
• ShareAlike — distribute contributions under the same license as the original.

4. Attribution Requirements

Proper attribution must be provided whenever PakPedia content or data is reused.

Your attribution should include:

• The title of the article or dataset.
• A link to the original page on https://pakpedia.org.
• The license reference (e.g., “CC BY-SA 4.0”).
• A statement acknowledging PakPedia as the source.

Example:

“Based on information from PakPedia (https://pakpedia.org), licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0.”

5. Public Domain & Third-Party Materials

Some records on PakPedia reference public-domain materials (such as laws, gazettes, or government notifications).

These remain under their respective jurisdictions and are reproduced under public information provisions.

Third-party data not created by PakPedia is clearly cited and may be governed by its own license.

6. Use Cases Permitted Under This License

The following uses are encouraged:

• Classroom and academic integration.
• Civic journalism and public reporting.
• Research, policy analysis, and data visualization.
• NGO or community education initiatives.
• Open-source civic app development using PakPedia datasets.

All such uses must maintain attribution and not misrepresent the original source.The following uses are encouraged:

• Classroom and academic integration.
• Civic journalism and public reporting.
• Research, policy analysis, and data visualization.
• NGO or community education initiatives.
• Open-source civic app development using PakPedia datasets.

All such uses must maintain attribution and not misrepresent the original source.

7. Prohibited Uses

The open license does not permit:

• Republishing data without attribution.
• Selling, leasing, or redistributing PakPedia content as proprietary.
• Misrepresentation or modification of data leading to misinformation.
• Use of PakPedia branding, name, or logo for endorsement without consent.

8. License Compatibility and Derivatives

If you combine PakPedia data with other open-source datasets, the resulting work must also be distributed under CC BY-SA 4.0 or an equivalent compatible license.

Derivative projects should reference PakPedia’s source in their documentation.

9. Requests for Extended Permissions

Organizations seeking to:

• Integrate PakPedia datasets into closed systems,
• Reuse data for commercial research, or
• Host PakPedia content on third-party portals,

must request written permission via [email protected].

Each request is reviewed to ensure educational alignment and data accuracy preservation.

10. Disclaimers and Liability

While PakPedia strives for data accuracy, information is provided “as is” without warranties.

PakPedia is not liable for any loss, interpretation error, or damage resulting from the reuse of its content or datasets.

Users are responsible for verifying information before relying on it for legal or policy decisions.

11. Policy Review and Updates

This policy is reviewed annually or when major updates to data frameworks occur (e.g., Creative Commons revisions or national data policy changes).

Updates will be published transparently on https://pakpedia.org/open-data-license-policy.

12. Contact Information

For licensing inquiries, attributions, or permission requests, contact:

Email: [email protected]

Subject Line: “Open Data License Inquiry – PakPedia”