[OSM-legal-talk] Extent of share alike?

[Matt Amos]

On 11/2/09, David Vaarwerk <david at mineraldata.com.au> wrote:
> I have made a map and business guide from scratch that you can
> see here http://www.mineraldata.com.au/wp/index.html [1]. I would like to
> share the map data with OSM and use OSM as a base map for this and other
> maps/ business guides - I assume there is no problem with this as long as I
> attribute the work.

wow. that looks awesome!

> However, my question is, how far does the share alike
> section of the Creative Commons licence go. I want to share the map data
> with OSM but not the other sections of the work.

this lack of clarity is one of the problems with the CC BY-SA license.
the short answer is: i'm not sure. the longer answer is: the image you
render to the screen must be CC BY-SA licensed, and therefore allow
people to do all the things they can do with a CC BY-SA work. but you
may have other rights in your data depending on your jurisdiction.
whether you can use these to prevent sharing of the business directory
is a question for a Real Lawyer.

> Is someone able to clarify this? Can
> I just share the map data?

actually, you don't have to share the map data. CC BY-SA considers
only the published work, which in your case is the image that the
flash app renders to the screen. only that work needs to be CC BY-SA,
although we obviously welcome sharing more!

for a (maybe) definitive answer, you might want to contact a lawyer.
it's a hassle, but they're the only people who can give you real legal
advice.

cheers,

matt