I have come across a published dataset which comes with a note saying that: (1) the authors of the dataset would like to be informed of any papers that use it (2) they might request co-authorship depending on how much the paper depends on the data.
I am feeling ambivalent about using this dataset. On the one hand, I appreciate that the authors chose to make it public, despite the many man-hours of work that went into creating it. On the other hand, it seems unusual that the creator of an already published dataset would request co-authorship on a paper they did not otherwise contribute to.
I am interested in using such a dataset for an idea, but I am reluctant to put significant work into a project when there is a risk (even if a small risk) that the dataset's creator may interfere with publication. Accepting co-authorship essentially means agreeing that the co-author may delay publication or may attempt to shape the paper, possibly in ways I am unhappy with.
Are such requests common? Are they reasonable? Is it reasonable to ignore such a request, given that the dataset is public?
I understand that this question may read like a nitpick. Realistically, I don't expect trouble. Yet it bothers me that starting to work with this dataset appears to essentially require agreeing that my work may be interfered with. It seems like a rather unreasonable "have your cake and eat it" mentality on part of the dataset author when releasing the data.