[OSM-legal-talk] License clarification question

[Nathan Vander Wilt]

On Dec 19, 2008, at 11:41 PM, Jukka Rahkonen wrote:
> Ævar Arnfjörð Bjarmason <avarab at ...> writes:
>> There's a license FAQ [1] which I think should answer your question.
>> whether your POI data is derived work would depend on whether you use
>> OSM data to place those POIs. I presume you have them already in some
>> database however and just wish to use OSM as a backdrop, in which  
>> case
>> that would be considered a separate dataset.
>>
>> Any modifications to the OSM data itself however would need to be
>> published as the CC-BY-SA dictates.
>>
>> 1. http://wiki.openstreetmap.org/wiki/Common_licence_interpretations
>>
>
> What about if users are finding errors in the POI data that are  
> shown on top of
> OSM data and they are suggesting corrections?  After first  
> correction somebody
> will claim that your POI data is derived from OSM. I don't know what  
> would
> happen if you build another system for user feedback.  Perhaps  
> somebody will say
> that even your feedback system itself does not show OSM data, the  
> error was
> maybe still noticed by comparing POIs with OSM data. It would be  
> better to have
> some other procedure that is separated from map application for  
> updating the POI
> data, even it may feel lunatic.

This is one of my biggest concerns with using OSM data, and why my  
initial excitement for what OSM could mean to our little company has  
long worn off. I can respect the reasons for a copyleft license, but  
some contributors seem to combine that mentality with Ordance Survey- 
esque notions of derivative work. Whether this has any legal basis, I  
cannot risk having our customers harassed because the OSM data in our  
applications may have helped them manage their own data. For example,  
if a photographer geotags a picture using OSM, what are the chances of  
a local surveyor (or any other contributor) wanting to decide how that  
copy of the photograph must then be licensed?

thanks,
-natevw