# Data license

This document is about the **data** the MUDAB API returns — which is **separate**
from the license of this tool's **code** (see [LICENSING.md](LICENSING.md)).

> **We provide the tool, not the data.** `mudab-cli` is an independent client. It
> bundles no data. What you retrieve is governed by the terms of the data provider,
> not by this project.

## Who provides the data

**MUDAB** (Meeresumweltdatenbank) holds quality-assured marine-monitoring data for
German coastal and marine waters. It is:

- **hosted / operated** via the **Bundesanstalt für Gewässerkunde (BfG)**
  (`geoportal.bafg.de`; point of contact `geoportal@bafg.de`), historically run with
  the **Bundesamt für Seeschifffahrt und Hydrographie (BSH)**;
- **surfaced** through the **Umweltbundesamt (UBA)** MUDAB portal;
- **sourced** from the **coastal Bundesländer and research institutions** that carry
  out the monitoring (much of it in fulfilment of HELCOM / OSPAR / MSRL obligations).

Copyright and rights therefore rest with those providers, not with this project.

## What the terms actually are

**They are not clearly stated as open.** The official GDI-DE metadata record for the
dataset lists its use constraints as *"keine Angaben"* (no information given) with a
use-constraint code of *otherRestrictions* — i.e. neither an explicit open license
(such as DL-DE or Creative Commons) nor explicit permission to redistribute.

Because of that, **do not assume the data is free to redistribute or reuse
commercially.** Treat it as **all rights reserved unless you have confirmed
otherwise** for your specific use.

## What this means for you

- **Attribution:** cite the source — the responsible institutions via BfG / UBA
  (e.g. "Datenquelle: Meeresumweltdatenbank (MUDAB), BfG/UBA und die datenhaltenden
  Bundesländer/Institutionen"). Attribution alone is not a substitute for permission.
- **Before redistributing, republishing, or building a commercial product** on this
  data, **confirm the terms** with the data holder — contact BfG (`geoportal@bafg.de`)
  or the [UBA MUDAB portal](https://www.umweltbundesamt.de/portale/meeresumweltdatenbank-mudab).
- **Personal, evaluation, and research use** of the live API is what the public
  endpoint is for; even then, follow any terms the providers state.

## Not legal advice

This summary is a good-faith description, not legal advice, and the upstream terms
can change. When in doubt, ask the provider. If you find that MUDAB has since
published explicit license terms, please open an issue so this file can be updated.