Open science principles advocate for not only the data to be published openly, but also all the data processing code or model simulation code that was generated in the process. This allows for better collaboration and faster improvements. 

Code licenses determine how code can be used, modified, and published by others. There are many open code licenses with different stipulations and conditions for use. Use the tools under “Choosing a License” to help find a code license for you. Generally, we recommend the GNU Public License version 3.0 or later (GPL-3) if you want your code to be free for re-use and want to guarantee that users who work with it also share their updates. If you want companies to be able to use your software without having to share their improvements, we recommend the MIT license. Contact your data stewards for help selecting a license. 

Note: The Creative Commons license is NOT suitable for software!

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