[OSM-legal-talk] Lawyer responses to use cases, major problems

[Rob Myers]

Simon Ward wrote:

>>                                               this could mean that 
>> anyone running osm2pgsql importing minutely data updates would possibly 
>> have to make available a ''psql dump of the whole planet'' for any 
>> snapshot time where someone cares to request it.
> 
> So be it.

With the GPL, the right to request the source is attached to receiving
and using the binary. Withe the AGPL it is attached to being a user of
the service. You can't just wander by and say "hey! please can I have
the source?", you have to be a user of the binary.

(In practice people just pop the source on an FTP server, but that's
less onerous than having to make minute-by-minute snapshots of OSM
available.)

It's difficult to separate things out like this with OSM. If I want the
data to make a *new* application/use of it, I cannot in good conscience
request it as a user of the existing service. Can I?

Trying to time-throttle requests (e.g. once a month) would break
mash-ups of fast-moving data. Covering costs might be the best way of
handling it, but again the GPL says you can't charge more for the source
than for the binary, and shouldn't charge more than media and delivery
costs.

- Rob.

-------------- next part --------------
A non-text attachment was scrubbed...
Name: signature.asc
Type: application/pgp-signature
Size: 260 bytes
Desc: OpenPGP digital signature
URL: <http://lists.openstreetmap.org/pipermail/legal-talk/attachments/20090301/cb26681b/attachment.pgp>