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In my opinion, for historical data a coupe of years old, probably yes.

To me, the answer derives from four questions:1. Is the data worth anything to those that want it (i.e., would the data help them generate a profit, get an education, have some entertainment, etc.)?2. Should the people that want the data pay their fair share of the costs to collect, clean, and distribute the data?3. Do we want data collectors to generate a higher profit so that more data collecting companies might form and offer competitive services?4. Are there positive or negative externalities to the widespread distribution of tick data such that governments might want to subsidize or penalize the distribution of tick data?Personally, I'd say yes, yes, yes, and maybe to these questions which means that tick data shouldn't be free unless the government discovers a rationale for subsidizing it.

QuoteOriginally posted by: banthonyDiscussion: should tick data be free?Should airplanes be weightless?That is a stupid question. You might ask "Should someone be forced to pay to put airplanes in the air?" Or "If someone has already put an airplane in the air, should the law allow for everyone who wants to then jump into it?"If I forced someone else at gunpoint to buy me an airplane, I doubt it would be a very big one, and I am not sure I would feel safe riding in it.On the other hand, if there had been more marketplaces to pay for derivatives tick data, more data might have been manufactured, and people might have priced AIG stock differently. And inside information is worth the most of all.But yes, tick data should be free, and here it is: Close: 32.75. And here is your free airplane:. It is the electron produced by the period I typedon the screen, and offers a free ride to one charge.

Are not tick data already free after 10 to 30 minutes, depending on exchange? However, providing storage, network / distribution / access, and minimal processing of the free data "at home" easily can cost a tidy sum - an order of $10^7 per year and more...

Only if the HDD to store the dree data are also free

How much are you willing to give me for it. Isn't it like any asset in any other market? It is only free when the fair value of it becomes free.

QuoteOriginally posted by: farmerQuoteOriginally posted by: banthonyDiscussion: should tick data be free?That is a stupid question. You might ask "Should someone be forced to pay to put airplanes in the air?" Or "If someone has already put an airplane in the air, should the law allow for everyone who wants to then jump into it?"Information is quite different in character from airplanes.The whole idea behind copyrights, and government enforcement of copyrights (which is ultimately what sustains the market), is that (a) a petitioner may obtain a limited, government-enforced monopoly for his ideas, or his organization of ideas, in exchange for which (b) this petitioner must ultimately release the government-protected artificially-monopolized information back into the public domain at some point.At the time the U.S. Constitution was adopted, I think the time frame between (a) and (b) above was about 7 years.Today, thanks to the lobbying of Disney et al, it's more like 99 years.But the principle is the same.You get artificial monopolies only in exchange for releasing the info back into the public domain at some point.I'm not sure if tick data is protected by "copyright"..But information intellectual property generally works the same, no matter what the mechanism.Patents eventually expire for the same reason, yes?