Publishing software and code in DTU Data

In DTU Data, you can publish both research data and software/code, but the licensing is handled differently.

Data and research articles can typically be published under Creative Commons licenses (e.g., CC BY), allowing sharing and reuse with attribution. Software and code, however, require specific software licenses that regulate usage, modification, and distribution.

DTU Data allows you to assign different licenses to individual files, ensuring that both data and software can be shared responsibly while complying with copyright and legal requirements.

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Datamanagement DTU Library

If you want to publish both data and code in the same item in DTU Data, you can choose the option “Various licenses”. This allows you to assign individual licenses to each file, ensuring that every file has the most appropriate level of protection and access.

In practice, this involves:

  1. Selecting “Various licenses” when creating your item in DTU Data.

  2. Attaching a list of the individual files and their respective licenses to your item.

See an example in DTU Data.

Important considerations for software licenses and copyright

  • Software developed by DTU employees always belongs to DTU, Therefore, “Copyright © [year] Technical University of Denmark” must be stated.

  • You can add the developers’ names in addition to the general copyright notice, for example:

“Copyright © [year] Technical University of Denmark – This version of the software was developed by [Name, Position, Department].”

  • Read more below about current legal procedures before publishing software. 

Read more about the direct integration options between DTU Data and GitHub/GitLab here.

Due to legal considerations, all software and code must undergo a legal review before publication, even if it only involves small scripts.

First step for researchers:
Review the information provided here, including the checklist. If you can answer “No” to all four points, and your department confirms this, the code can be published in DTU Data without further process. Please let us know if the checklist is completed.

If you cannot answer “No” to all items:

  • You must complete a Software Notification Form (SNF), which you can download here.

  • Once completed, the form should be sent to dtu-software@dtu.dk. If you cannot obtain all signatures immediately, Legal can start reviewing the form and follow up later.

During this process, DTU Legal & Tech Trans will review third-party components and license terms and assist in selecting an appropriate license for publishing the code.

Read more about Software

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