[OSM-legal-talk] Share-data licence

[Richard Fairhurst]

SteveC wrote:

> Christopher Schmidt wrote:
>> The prevailing legal opinion -- at least in the US -- is "Yes". Map
>> databases are sets of facts. Facts are not copyrightable.
>
> Unlike in the EU:
>
> http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Database_right

Mmm, IWTWFTICTI [1].

Case law in the European Courts of Justice (BHB vs William Hill, and  
Fixtures Marketing) has substantially narrowed the applicability of  
database right. I've put some relevant links on the wiki 'Case law'  
page, and you can Google for loads more:  
http://www.kemplittle.com/SL-DBRight_AfterWH_0105.htm is a good  
summary (by which I mean that human beings can _almost_ understand it).

Effectively database right doesn't give protection to "underlying  
materials" (the facts which we record through surveying work), just to  
the databaseness of it all, and even then only in some circumstances.  
It's not even 100% clear that OSM would qualify as a database  
(really), and if it did, whether the database right owners would be  
OSMF or individual contributors (or both).

It's kind of moot anyway because CC expressly say that their licences  
are copyright licences, not database right licences:

"Users of European databases should also be aware of the fact that the  
database may be protected by a sui generis (ie. copyright-like)  
database right that is not actually a copyright right and thus, not  
licensed under the standard Creative Commons licenses (except the  
Belgium & Netherlands Creative Commons licenses)."

cheers
Richard

[1] I wouldn't trust Wikipedia further than I could throw it ;)