Version 1.0 of the UK's Open Government License has been released, as developed by Her Majesty’s Stationery Office (good to see a stationery office that thinks beyond paperclips and printer paper!) It is similar to a Creative Commons attribution license with some added bits. Press release here - choice quote:
Commenting on the launch of the new licence, Lord McNally, Minister for The National Archives and Public Sector Information, said: 'The National Archives isn't simply a repository of our nation's history, its task is to bring information to life, make it accessible and enable its re-use. This innovative licence gives everyone the opportunity to create products and services which benefit society.'
update: there's some information from Beth Brook about why the Open Government License was developed, rather than using a Creative Commons license. In summary: they wanted a single license that covered both copyright and database rights, covering all UK jurisdictions, and which was as simple as possible (rather than having a simple summary but complex legal language).
update 2: post on data.gov.uk about the license encouraging use of the license by local authorities.
update 3: analysis from eaves.ca on how this positions the UK.
