[OSM-legal-talk] CC-BY-SA and T+Cs

[Simon Ward]

On Fri, Mar 06, 2009 at 08:15:23PM +0100, Frederik Ramm wrote:
> Richard Fairhurst wrote:
> > Very often CC-BY-SA items will be conveyed with contractual
> > restrictions: Andy A cited the other day that the cycle map has its own Ts &
> > Cs, for example.
> 
> So has CloudMade; they say that you may access their site "solely for 
> your personal use". It is an interesting twist of share-alike; you 
> cannot, of course, say that the map tile you are serving is for personal 
> use because that would violate the license. But it seems that you can 
> restrict the way in which you deliver it

This is the same for software with the GPL:  You may distribute GPL
software only to people who supply you with beer, but when you do that,
you give them the right to have the same access to the source code, and
to use, modify, and redistribute to anyone they choose under the same
terms.  You don’t automatically have to distribute the general public
just because you gave the software to your friend.

> The interesting question is, can I use this power to restrict how people 
> use my tiles? Can I say "this is an open server that anyone can access, 
> but if you plan to use the tile for a satanic ritual after you have 
> accessed the server, then you do not have permission to access my site? 
> Oh yes I cannot disallow that you use the tile for a satanic ritual but 
> I can disallow that you use my site to access it... and by the way I 
> also disallow anyone to access my site with the plan of giving the tile 
> to you so don't you think of asking your friend".

You could just disallow everyone :)  I don’t know the answer to this,
but I suspect you could do all of this.  I also suspect that “plan” won’t
stand up very well, since I might want to use your tiles for my own
purposes without planning to distribute to someone else.  Assuming the
licence is actually free, once I have received the tiles, if a friend
asks for a copy, I should still then be free to give them a copy and the
freedom to use under the terms of the licence.

Simon
-- 
A complex system that works is invariably found to have evolved from a
simple system that works.—John Gall
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