Open Science & Research Services

Research software and code developed by NTU researchers should contribute to academic dissemination and research reproducibility. In support of open science, NTU encourages researchers to make such research software and code openly accessible. This enables research outputs to be reused, verified, and built upon by the wider academic community. 

To enable Open Science whilst protecting your research software and code, an appropriate open-source license when sharing or publishing the research software or code. 

Before publishing under an open-source license, researchers should check with NTUitive to assess whether the IP is commercially viable/feasible. Please refer to the flowchart below for guidance.

Research software and code are automatically protected by copyright upon creation. Unlike other forms of intellectual property, such as patents and trademarks, no formal registration is required to establish copyright ownership. 

The absence of an explicit copyright notice does not affect the existence of copyright protection. When researchers publish code without specifying a license, copyright law applies by default, which assumes all rights to the source code are retained by the owner. Consequently, others are not permitted to use, modify, or distribute the code without the owner’s explicit permission. 

Therefore, researchers intending to make their source code publicly available must clearly indicate this intention by applying an appropriate open-source software license.

Applying a license allows you to:
1.  Clarify permissions for others to use, modify or distribute, which would otherwise be restricted by copyright laws. 
2.  Protect yourself legally by including disclaimers of liability and warranty. 
3.  Set conditions for commercial use, and attributions. 
4.  Encourage adoption by others due to the legal clarity that licenses provide. 
5.  Maintain your rights as the owner of your software and code. 

To allow such reuse, researchers are advised to apply an explicit license to your code, such as MIT, GPL, or Apache. (Note: Creative Commons licenses are generally not recommended for software and code, but suitable for datasets and code documentation.) 

For software and code intended for public sharing but also with potential commercial value, NTUitive recommends the use of their Dual-License Agreement whereby software and code can be made freely available for non-commercial academic use under an open-source license, while a separate commercial license is applicable for business applications. This helps to balance academic openness with the protection of NTU’s commercial interests. 

Researchers are to note that if any research software or code was developed based on existing open-source software, you must obtain consent from the copyright owner or comply with the license terms of that open-source software. 

Scenario 1: The code or software contains code from others. 

All lines of code carry their own copyright and may be subject to specific licensing terms. You must comply with the licence terms of the code you incorporated from third parties and give proper attribution. Proper attribution and compliance with existing licenses are essential when reusing, adapting or building upon the work of others. Researchers may consult NTU Library for guidance.

Scenario 2: The code or software is generated as original work and NTU is the sole owner.

If the code or software is original and NTU is the sole copyright owner, researchers may choose a licence from the following options:

When choosing a license, consider the following types of licenses:

Permissive Software Licenses

These licences permit users to use, modify, and distribute the code, provided that proper attribution is given to the original creator. MIT is amongst the most open-source software licences. The Apache License is also permissive and compatible with other licenses. It includes a patent clause that prevents users from filing patent infringement claims related to Apache-licensed code.

Restrictive Software Licenses

The GNU General Public License (GPL) license allows free use and modification of software but require that derivative works be released under the same license, which makes it more restrictive than permissive license like MIT. 
GPL automatically applies to any derivative work, even with minimal use or linkage, making it incompatible with licenses like Apache. 

Note: Terms of software licences change from time to time. Please read through the licence terms before relying or using the licence.

This flowchart is developed by NTU Research Integrity and Ethics Office and Library (2025) to provide guidance to licensing research software and code in the NTU Context.

Does the software or code contain lines of code from others?

It is good practice to track the origin of all code included in software to ensure proper attribution and to understand what licences apply. Because every line of code carries copyright and may have its own licence, developers must check licence compatibility before reusing or building on others’ work. Not all open-source licences can be combined. The safest approach is to follow the existing licence terms of any reused code. Proprietary software cannot be used without explicit written permission, whereas open-source licences automatically grant the rights and conditions needed for reuse.

Is NTU the sole copyright owner?

Under the NTU Research Data Policy and Intellectual Property Policy, NTU owns all research software and code developed by staff and students through research projects, except in cases such as sponsored research, multi-institutional collaborations, or industry partnerships where different terms may apply.

Does the software or code have potential commercial value?

If your research software or code has potential commercial value, NTUitive should be informed as early as possible to safeguard its value and support downstream commercial applications. NTU researchers are encouraged to submit a Technology Disclosure (TD) to NTUitive so that the University can evaluate the need for patent protection, particularly for code or software with strong commercial potential and sufficiently broad patentable claims.

For disclosures involving commercially valuable code or software, NTUitive may recommend using its Dual License template. This license permits free use for research and non-commercial purposes, while commercial use requires a commercial license issued by NTU.

Faculty and staff should also be aware that any publications or public disclosures must be withheld until appropriate patent protection is in place.

For further guidance, please contact NTUitive regarding Info-Comm Tech (ICT) commercialisation.

Will there be academic research sharing to facilitate reuse and reproducibility?

If yes, consider applying an Open Source Software (OSS) license to your shared research software or code. The choice of a license will largely depend on whether you want to put any constraints on anyone who uses your software. The more permissive the licence, the less constraints on the end user. To help you navigate the different options, there are some useful licence selector tools to help you, such as:

• Public Licence selector
• Choose a licence

If you are working in a community, then it is best to choose a licence that is associated with that community. There is an extensive list of common software licences.

Use the OSS Watch Licence Differentiator Tool, which helps you compare options and identify the open licences that best suit your preferences.

Please contact NTU Research Data Management if you have any questions on licensing research software and code or suggestions for this LibGuide.