# Evaluation and Comparison Semantics for ODRL

arXiv: https://arxiv.org/abs/2509.05139 · HTML: https://mlsanity.com/paper/2509.05139/

## Key facts

- Cited by 4 papers in the map (data through 14 Oct 2026).
- Builds on 1 of its 21 references that are in the map.
- First posted on arXiv 5 Sep 2025.

## Builds on (most cited first, 1 of 1)

- [Open Digital Rights Enforcement Framework (ODRE): from descriptive to enforceable policies](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2409.17602/) (2024)

## Built on by (most cited first, 4 of 4)

- [ODRL Policy Comparison Through Normalisation](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2603.12926/) (2026)
- [Axis-Aligned Semantics for ODRL: Resolving Dimensional Ambiguity in Policy Constraints](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2602.19878/) (2026)
- [What Does ODRL Mean? A Cross-Level Ontological Grounding of Permissions, Prohibitions, and Duties in UFO-L](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2606.24344/) (2026)
- [A Formally Grounded ODRL Evaluator: Implementation and Comparison](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2607.15987/) (2026)

## Abstract (arXiv)

We consider the problem of evaluating, and comparing computational policies in the Open Digital Rights Language (ODRL), which has become the de facto standard for governing the access and usage of digital resources. Although preliminary progress has been made on the formal specification of the language's features, a comprehensive formal semantics of ODRL is still missing. In this paper, we provide a simple and intuitive formal semantics for ODRL that is based on query answering. Our semantics refines previous formalisations, and is aligned with the latest published specification of the language (2.2). Building on our evaluation semantics, and motivated by data sharing scenarios, we also define and study the problem of comparing two policies, detecting equivalent, more restrictive or more permissive policies.