[Legal-general] Which approach would be the best to import data into PD database?

[Sunburned Surveyor]

Kari,

I think Andy may be right on this point. After reading the information
that you posted from the wiki it seems that you would have to go back
to the source of the PD data to get the data in PD. Once it is in the
OSM database it becomes "tainted" by the share-alike license.

I suppose there is some wiggle room based on not being able to
copyright facts. However, if we want to be as careful about
maintaining "pure" data as OSM is, then I think we should avoid
questionable sources of public domain data.

Landon

On Tue, Nov 18, 2008 at 7:03 AM, Andy Allan <gravitystorm at gmail.com> wrote:
> On Tue, Nov 18, 2008 at 2:31 PM, Kari Pihkala <kari.pihkala at gmail.com> wrote:
>>>I'm not sure what makes you think that any data you take from the
>>>OpenStreetMap database could possibly not be covered by the CC-BY-SA
>>>license. Everything that's in there is covered, no exceptions. The
>>>planet file, for instance, is covered by the license - and it doesn't
>>>say "CC-BY-SA some-of-it, other-bits PD". Neither does the API.
>>
>> According to the Legal FAQ in the wiki, I'm allowed to do it. Are you saying
>> that the wiki page has incorrect information?
>
> A wiki being inaccurate? That could never be true!
>
>> Would you like to edit and
>> correct it?
>
> No, but thanks for asking.
>
>> Accoring to it: http://wiki.openstreetmap.org/wiki/Legal_FAQ
>>
>> "When you upload data to OSM, you are the copyright holder of your data, but
>> you agree to license it under the terms of this licence. This means only you
>> can relicense the data. The copyright of the whole data set is scattered
>> among all contributors... Some contributors release their contributions to
>> the public domain. "
>
> Perhaps there should be an "also" in that final sentence?
>
>> The copyright of the whole data set is scattered among all contributors -
>> that would indicate that the data set (database) is partially CC-BY-SA and
>> partially PD. Also:
>
> That's a non-sequitur. You're mixing up the concepts of copyright and licensing.
>
>> "Can I get permission to distribute OSM data under an alternative licence?
>> The copyright to OSM data is vested in the individual contributors. If you
>> happen to use data provided solely by one or a few OSM contributors, you can
>> ask them if they are willing to provide their data to you under a different
>> license. "
>
> That's funny, I'm pretty sure I already said the following:
>
>>>Now if a contributor (including bulk uploaders) is/are willing to
>>>*also* put a copy of their data into the public domain, then you
>>>should enquire from them to receive a copy of their data duly
>>>licensed. Public Domain is not "viral"; for example just because vast
>>>amounts of OSM data came from TIGER doesn't mean that any of that data
>>>in OSM is still public domain.
>>
>> That would also mean that the OSM Foundation can't change the license from
>> CC-BY-SA to the new Open Database License (ODbL) by asking the contributors
>> for a permission? They should ask all contributors to resend a copy of their
>> data duly licensed??
>
> Again, I think you're mixing up the concepts of licensing and
> copyright. Or maybe I am. Who knows - but I'd be very careful if I
> were you; it's a complex area and your discussions so far about
> copying data from OSM and ignoring the license have been somewhat ill
> thought through.
>
> Cheers,
> Andy
>
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