[Savannah-register-public] [task #14528] Submission of relax

[Edward d'Auvergne]

Follow-up Comment #41, task #14528 (project administration):

The statement
<https://www.rcsb.org/pdb/static.do?p=general_information/about_pdb/policies_references.html>
says:

"Data files contained in the PDB archive (ftp://ftp.wwpdb.org) are free of all
copyright restrictions..."

There are no restrictions or clauses on this.  The text "free of all copyright
restrictions" means there is no copyright.

Note that you cannot patent a 3D structure by itself (at least in the US or
Europe).  You can only have patent claims on its application for specific
uses.  So the absence of copyright and the non-patentability of 3D structures
by themselves is equivalent to all contents of the PDB being public domain.

As for the RCSB PDB IP advisory notice
<https://www.rcsb.org/pdb/static.do?p=general_information/about_pdb/pdb_advisory.html>,
this is an obvious legal shield for the RCSB PDB organisation that covers
patents, copyright, or any other IP claims:

*Patents:*  Certain proteins, small molecules (e.g. medicines), DNA/RNA, and
other macromolecules are patented for specific uses in some countries.  The
advisory notice shields the PDB against patent trolls, in that the "user" who
submitted the 3D structure is legally responsible for defending against any
patent claims.  "Troll" is the appropriate term here as you cannot claim the
3D structure itself in a patent.

*Copyright:*  Take for example a "user" who deposits a 3D structure but does
not have the authority to make the work public domain - i.e. they are not the
copyright holder.  Then the "user" and not the Protein Data Bank is legally
responsible for the copyright violation.  Again this is a legal shield for the
PDB.  An example of this situation might be a PhD student determining the 3D
structure, and the student's professor submitting the structure after the
student has graduated, without the student agreeing to their 3D structure file
being made public domain.

I do not see how this IP advisory notice invalidates the public domain nature
of the entire Protein Data Bank.  I would assume that is why the RCSB who
maintain the PDB have the following Full Privacy Statement
<https://www.rcsb.org/pages/privacy-policy>:

"RCSB PDB operates an open-access portal *for public domain information* about
the 3D shapes of proteins, nucleic acids, and complex assemblies that helps
researchers, educators, and students understand fundamental biology,
biomedicine, and bioenergy. As a member of the Worldwide Protein Data Bank
partnership (wwPDB; wwpdb.org), RCSB PDB validates and biocurates data
deposited into the global PDB archive."

The emphasis is mine to highlight that the contents of this database is
officially labelled as being "public domain" by the RCSB.  Looking at more
recent wwPDB parent organisation, the mission statement on the main webpage
states <https://www.wwpdb.org/>:

"Ensure universal open access to public domain structural biology data with no
limitations on usage."

This is repeated on their FAQ <https://www.wwpdb.org/about/faq>.  And from the
PDB newsletter number 2 from April 1999
<ftp://ftp.wwpdb.org/pub/pdb/doc/newsletters/rcsb_pdb/news02_apr99.txt>:

"The contents of PDB *are in the public domain*, but it is expected that the
authors of an entry as well as the PDB be properly cited whenever their work
is referred to.  Structures used from the PDB should be cited with the PDB id
and the JRNL reference."

Again the emphasis is mine.  "Expected" here is not a legal requirement that
invalidates the "public domain" nature of the 3D structure files, but is
common courtesy for scientists standing on the shoulders of others.  Similar
statements are repeated in a number of the PDB newsletters (e.g. number 30
<ftp://ftp.wwpdb.org/pub/pdb/doc/newsletters/rcsb_pdb/news30_jul06.txt> with
the text "The contents of the RCSB PDB are in the public domain.", or number
33 <ftp://ftp.wwpdb.org/pub/pdb/doc/newsletters/rcsb_pdb/news33_apr07.txt>
with the same text).

I am not a legal expert.  But the contents of the PDB database really are, and
always have been, public domain.

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