custom attribution license

Custom attribution licenses are one-off terms written for a specific dataset rather than drawn from a standard family like commercial delivery terms or commercial delivery terms. The cataloged example is the NBER-CES Manufacturing Industry Database, whose licensing field names a "custom attribution licence published on the NBER page". Its terms: free use for any purpose with attribution - the citation line reads Becker, Gray, Marvakov 2021, NBER-CES Manufacturing Industry Database, 1958-2018, version 2021a.

The redistribution clause is where custom terms diverge from open licenses. Here redistribution requires permission, with one carve-out: publishing a copy to satisfy journal data-availability requirements is allowed, provided the terms accompany the package. The database itself ships 1958-2018 annual panels in three concordances - 459 SIC, 473 NAICS-1997 and 364 NAICS-2012 industries.

License ambiguity surfaces late, usually when a derived dataset is about to ship. Custom wording has no standard interpretation, so each clause - attribution string, permission trigger, carve-out scope - has to be read literally.

• Attribution is cheap; redistribution is not. Using NBER-CES columns in an internal model costs nothing beyond the citation; posting the file publicly triggers the permission requirement.
• Academic carve-outs have edges. The journal-deposit exception applies when terms travel with the copy - strip the licence text and the exception stops covering you.
• Compare before swapping sources. commercial delivery terms datasets in the same catalog impose no attribution at all; choosing a custom-licence source buys curation quality at the price of terms management.

1. Locate the actual licence text. NBER publishes the custom licence on the database page - never rely on a marketplace summary for bespoke terms.

1. Copy the prescribed citation verbatim. Becker, Gray, Marvakov 2021, NBER-CES Manufacturing Industry Database, 1958-2018, version 2021a is the required form; paraphrase risks non-compliance.

1. Map your distribution plans against the permission clause. Redistribution requires prior permission here, so decide before launch whether your product republishes rows.

1. Keep terms attached to any permitted copy. The journal-deposit carve-out holds only if the licence text accompanies the package.

1. Track versions. Version 2021a covers 1958-2018 in three concordances; cite the exact version your analysis used.

Entries that sit next to custom attribution license in this glossary:

• commercial delivery terms-public-domain
• us-government-work-license