[OSM-talk] A reliable process for handling OSM license violations

[Michael Collinson]

There are now at least 1 to 2 reports every month of folks not giving us 
proper CC-BY-SA attribution.  These are mostly websites but include 
poster advertising, a TV advertisement and a TV show.

We need a reliable process for dealing with these.

Currently, the License Working Group has been doing some work but it 
feels that it is not dealing with the issues adequately and some issues 
not at all.

What should we do?

Here's a run down of what happens at the moment:

- At the very minimum, there should be a public record of alleged 
violations to show that these things do not pass un-noticed and to 
provide a central point for collating frequency and the nature of the 
problem.  So far, if the LWG hears a report, we document the basics in a 
"Hall of Shame" section of our weekly meeting minutes, 
http://www.osmfoundation.org/wiki/Working_Group_Minutes

- A member of the OSMF board or LWG  takes up the particular issue. This 
depends very much on personal enthusiasm. It requires initial tact - 
most instances are neglect/cannot be bothered rather than purely wilful. 
It requires persistance and follow-up,  - we generally get an "oh we 
will fix it immediately" ... and then they don't. It requires careful 
coordination within the OSM/OSMF community to provide a united front. It 
may require research - for example, how exactly should a TV ad provide a 
CC-BY-SA attribution? And lastly, future cases may involve bumping up to 
formal legal help and legal action.  Not easy for one person to do.


Mike
OSM Foundation License Working Group