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Amaury Jacquot wrote:<br><br>
>Date: Thu, 07 Apr 2005 15:00:52 +0200<br>
>From: Amaury Jacquot <sxpert@esitcom.org><br>
>Subject: Re: [Openstreetmap] geodriving results<br>
>To: Andrew Birkett <andy@nobugs.org><br>
>Cc: openstreetmap@vr.ucl.ac.uk<br>
> <br>
> There's an interesting discussion about Ordnance Survey copyright
and<br>
> related issues, courtesy of the British Cartograph Society,
at:<br>
> <br>
>
<a href="http://www.cartography.org.uk/Pages/Membership/DesignG/Copyrit.html" eudora="autourl">http://www.cartography.org.uk/Pages/Membership/DesignG/Copyrit.html</a><br>
> <br>
> Note that the OS weren't involved in the article (despite the<br>
> question/answer format). I think the Ordnance Survey side of
the<br>
> discussion is extracted from published OS regulations.<br><br>
that's interesting.<br>
it seems the OS are the worst intellectual "property" pundits
to date...<br><br>
quote :<br>
"Memory in some circumstances can be a copy"<br><br>
<b>guess the UK gov should make them 100% state funded and have
them<br>
distribute their data freely :D<br><br>
</b>Amaury<br>
<ends><br><br>
Unfortunately, I doubt very much that you will see OS GB being returned
to full state funding anytime soon - if ever. From the government's point
of view, OS is one of the most successful practitioners of the grand
"trading fund" experiment which started in 1999 (for OS) to get
government agencies "off the books" from Treasury point of
view.<br><br>
OS are also influential members of the v.large pan-European mapping
organisation EuroGeographics, which is the "trade association"
for something like 40 European mapping and cadastral agencies (includes
far more than just EU member states). They have had a commercial,
geodata-sales-oriented approach for a number of years, formerly enacted
by a sub-group (17 member mapping agencies) called MEGRIN (back when
EuroGeographics itself was called CERCO).<br><br>
From the point of view of many of the EuroGeographic mapping agency
members, OS is doing superb work and some of the most advanced in Europe
- totally digital database, no more paper maps needed, new products can
be created in 2-3 days (versus 2-3 months as previously), data at
different scales and for different types of users can be sold on-line,
even using "Click Use" licenses pre-approved by the Office for
Public Sector Information (formerly known as HMSO!), 5000 daily updates
directly into the fully object-oriented digital database - which is
maintained using Open Geospatial Consortium (OGC) compliant metadata (GML
ver 2.0 as of now), etc. OK, OS also has problems with its digital
database, update frequency, evolving international standards, etc. - but
then, so does everyone else in the industry.<br><br>
From the point of view of the "free geodata for all"
community, this may all be irrelevant as it has noting to do with geodata
access policy - only technology. But from the point of view of NMAs that
are struggling to catch up to OS but are hampered by serious funding
restrictions from their own national Treasury offices/ministries - they
see the OS/Trading Fund approach as a god send!<br><br>
If we want truly open geodata - perhaps made available under soon to be
enacted exploitation of Public Sector Information EU Directive
legislation (due to be implemented by 1 July 2005 in all EU member
states), then the open geodata community needs to begin some *VERY*
pro-active and *HIGHLY* convincing lobbying of the powers that be in
Whitehall and Parliament - as well as at the European Commission and
European Parliament. With the INSPIRE draft Directive setting out geodata
policy for Europe, still awaiting its "first reading" at the
European Parliament (probably on 20-21 April), there is still much debate
required on this potentially far-reaching Directive and (possibly) some
time (still) to steer the final text in ways that defend "open
geodata" principles more than it appears to today.<br><br>
Kind regards<br><br>
Roger Longhorn<br>
ral@alum.mit.edu<br>
(former) expert in GI Policy to European Commission<br>
PhD student, City University, London (in GI policy)<br><br>
Director, Info-Dynamics Research Associates Ltd<br>
EC Projects Office<br>
1A Potters Cross, Wootton<br>
Bedfordshire MK43 9JG, U.K.<br>
Computer voicemail & Fax +44 (0)870 134 6492<br>
E-mail: ral@alum.mit.edu<br>
Mobile +44 (0)7879 875288<br>
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