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--></style><title>Re: [Talk-us] Baltimore County GIS Data is now
public doma</title></head><body>
<blockquote type="cite" cite>>>Conclusion: explicit law
may already give us permission to use (our) data any way we see fit,
simply by asking for them. Read up on >>your state's laws
on Public Records, see if there are any court decisions affirming, and
armed with this knowledge, ask away. Happy mapping!<br>
<br>
Good point. RCFP just published a guide to open government records law
for all 50 states, which you can find here here: <a
href="http://t.co/bBEWW1H2FG">http://tinyurl.com/m6leum5</a> The guide
is simply the text of state legislation, so you won't find anything in
the way of interpretation or application. For that you'd better look
closer to home.<br>
</blockquote>
<blockquote type="cite" cite>In Virginia we have a public records law
that places most public records in the public domain, but
interestingly (or frustratingly) every jurisdiction in the state
asserts copyright over the data. Here is the text of that
copyright:<br>
<br>
"<i><b>Information shown on these maps is derived from public
records that are constantly undergoing change and do not replace a
site survey, and is not warranted for content or
accuracy.</b></i><b><x-tab> </x-tab></b> The County does
not guarantee the positional or thematic accuracy of the GIS data. The
GIS data or cartographic digital files are not a legal representation
of any of the features in which it depicts, and disclaims any
assumption of the legal status of which it represents. Data contained
on this Web page/site is Copyright © York County, Virginia. The GIS
data are proprietary to the County, and title to this information
remains in the County. All applicable common law and statutory rights
in the GIS data including,but not limited to, rights in copyright,
shall and will remain the property of the County."<br>
</blockquote>
<blockquote type="cite" cite>My take is that this language was crafted
in the early days of paleo-GIS and was intended as a CYA by local
governments who feared getting sued for inaccurate data. I'm not sure
of the implications for importing into OpenStreetMap. Insights
welcome.</blockquote>
<div><br></div>
<div><br></div>
<div><br></div>
<div>OK, Steven, here are my insights. Again, I am not an
attorney, just a reasonably informed Citizen, and I most certainly do
not know everything in this realm.</div>
<div><br></div>
<div>It would seem Virginia has a situation similar to California's a
few years ago, BEFORE California Supreme Court's 2009 decision:
one where statutory law (California Public Records Act, part of
California's Government Code) conflicted with a copyright/Terms of Use
by a public entity (Santa Clara County). The California First
Amendment Coalition (CFAC) requested geographic data from the County
of Santa Clara free of the County's onerous copyright and/or Terms of
Use (asserting it under CPRA law, as enacted), the County refused, so
CFAF sued, demanding as its remedy access to the data unfettered by
copyright or other restrictions. Long story short, it went all
the way to the California Supreme Court, and CFAF won.</div>
<div><br></div>
<div>The best part about this is that "open access to public
records" isn't just enacted law, it is enacted law AFFIRMED BY
HIGH COURT, about as good as it gets when such or similar questions
arise in the future.</div>
<div><br></div>
<div>What you (or somebody else, preferably with deep legal pockets!)
might do is something similar: explicitly reject the copyright
as a direct conflict of statutory law. It appears you have to
understand what Virginia's law says, be prepared to challenge the
jurisdiction's actions (assertion of copyright) as illegal and be
convinced court(s) will see it your way. I think. Or at
least, be prepared for that to happen: that's what happened
here.</div>
<div><br></div>
<div>A similar, recent (July 2013) case between the Sierra Club and
Orange County can be read about at<font face="Verdana">
http://articles.latimes.com/2013/jul/08/local/la-me-adv-map-ruling-20<span
></span>130709</font> where again, the court ruled that the County
must provide the GIS data without licensing or restrictions on
distribution.</div>
<div><br></div>
<div>Once the data are "cleanly yours," THEN there are good
questions to ask whether the data might or should find their way into
OSM. That is an entirely different thread! (One which has
been addressed many times and in many ways regarding imports).</div>
<div><br></div>
<div>I hope this helps,</div>
<div><br></div>
<div>SteveA</div>
<div>California</div>
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