"Science is based on building on, reusing and openly criticising the published body of scientific knowledge. For science to effectively function, and for society to reap the full benefits from scientific endeavours, it is crucial that science data be made open." That is part of the preamble to the Panton Principles, which are principles for open data in science. The first draft of the Panton Principles was written in July 2009 by Peter Murray-Rust, Cameron Neylon, Rufus Pollock and John Wilbanks at the Panton Arms on Panton Street in Cambridge, UK.

They were then refined with the help of the members of the Open Knowledge Foundation's Working Group on Open Data in Science and were officially launched in February 2010. You can follow the group's activities on their blog.

The Panton Principles were recently featured in a banner ad on BioMed Central.