[OSM-legal-talk] [OSM-talk] License

Richard Fairhurst richard at systemeD.net
Thu Feb 1 15:04:05 GMT 2007


OJW wrote:

> e.g. the very project (npemaps) used as an example on that page distributes
> one of its main datasets (the map tiles) under a non-free license that's
> incompatible with openstreetmap data.

As the person who licenced most of the map scans I'd like to object  
quite strongly to that!

They are licensed as "CC-NC, but tracings are completely unrestricted,  
and feel free to ask permission for commercial use" (and you'll  
probably get it). Indeed, we've had just such a commercial-use query  
in the past couple of days and have responded generously.

To my mind, this facilitates a whole load more potential uses than the  
CC-SA used by OSM does. Using the common English word "free" in the  
specific GNU sense is irrelevant because GNU is about free software  
and accompanying documentation, and this ain't either.

It is not true to categorically say it's incompatible with OSM data.  
Firstly, there is an explicit disclaimer that "you may derive what you  
like from this and we make no claim to the copyright". Secondly, you  
can overlay an OSM vector layer on an npemap base layer as a  
collective work. This isn't possible with a printed map, but that's  
the fault of OSM's CC-SA, not the scans' "CC-NC+ask for more".

cheers
Richard

p.s. legal-talk is still that way, cc:ed ----> :)





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