[OSM-legal-talk] Privacy and Terms

[Matt Amos]

On Fri, Jul 3, 2009 at 3:20 AM, Matt Amos<zerebubuth at gmail.com> wrote:
> On Thu, Jul 2, 2009 at 10:20 PM, Ed Avis<eda at waniasset.com> wrote:
>> Matt Amos <zerebubuth at ...> writes:
>>
>>>http://wikimediafoundation.org/wiki/Terms_of_Use
>>>http://wikimediafoundation.org/wiki/Privacy_policy
>>>see also the terms at the bottom of every edit box.
>>
>> These terms and conditions don't try to impose an EULA on people
>> reading the site but give guidelines on uploading data, on copying
>> text (which is normally restricted by copyright law, and so you need
>> to read the licence), and the privacy policy is something that sets
>> standards for the Wikimedia Foundation to follow, not a set of
>> restrictions or disclaimers that users must agree to.
>
> i think you're still misunderstanding: the privacy policy and terms of
> service are not EULAs - they don't need to be agreed to. as you say,
> the privacy policy is simply a declaration by OSMF about the
> conditions under which it collects and retains data. the terms of
> service are the conditions under which you may use the site - again,
> they don't need to be agreed to.
>
>>>i think you have misunderstood; i don't see anyone suggesting that
>>>you'd need to explicitly agree to anything to browse the map.
>>>
>>>if they wish to upload something, they'll need an account. when they
>>>register for an account they will be presented with the "contributor
>>>terms" which include licensing.
>>
>> I think that's fine.  In that case the 'terms and conditions' should
>> not purport to apply to people just using the website or the OSM data
>> (which has its own licence), but only be something you explicitly
>> agree to on uploading data.  That means any stuff about 'personal use
>> only' and so on doesn't belong.
>
> what you're referring to are the "contributor terms", which is a
> contract between OSMF and the contributor regularing each party's
> rights and obligations. wikipedia has something very similar.

i should have linked to
http://wiki.openstreetmap.org/wiki/Open_Data_License/Contributor_Terms

bear in mind that it still isn't a finished document - it's under
discussion in LWG meetings and being reviewed by our lawyer. we think
it sets out, with the minimum of legalese, a fair contract with the
balance rights and obligations that the community wants.

of course, we could be mistaken. so please let's continue discussing it.

cheers,

matt