[OSM-legal-talk] UK Public Rights of Way

[Tom Hughes]

On 17/09/09 20:46, Antony Scott wrote:

> Re: OS derivation - interestingly, in the course of a long conversation
> and a couple of email exchanges, the officer at the council did not
> raise this as an issue. The understanding I have is that the data flow
> is the other way round - ie that the council updates the OS with
> incremental changes and the OS update their mapping. The council's
> digital map is the result of an incomplete exercise in digitisation
> which they now have access to internally, but is not available
> externally. It is this resource, which appears to be council derived,
> that I would like to get hold of. Ideally by persuasion, if we can
> persuade the council that it would be better to have this data in the
> public domain than not.

Yes, the council will be sending the data they create describing the 
routes of paths to the OS but they will also be using OS data when 
creating that description - if a path goes from the junction of two 
roads to the corner of a field then they will likely locate those 
features on a OS map and draw a line between them.

> As to the 1956 version of the definitive map being out of copright -
> good point, but how could I get a copy of it? It is a paper version of
> course, available for inspection at the council's offices. I suppose I
> could take a camera, or just ask if I could have a copy.... it does date
> from 1956 though, so how much use it will be is another question.

It's not the map itself that is interesting, it's the paths they have 
drawn on it (many of which post date 1956 presumably) but if they have 
only used that old map in doing so then there is no derivation problem.

Of course like you I'm not sure, from a practical point of view, how you 
would make use of that.

Tom

-- 
Tom Hughes (tom at compton.nu)
http://www.compton.nu/