[OSM-legal-talk] ODbL, CTs and tracing GPS tracks

[Jukka Rahkonen]

davespod <osmlists at ...> writes:
> Jukka Rahkonen writes:
> 
> >I have understood that uploaded GPS track logs that we have now are
> > effectively public domain. They are facts (even they do not allways
> > tell the truth) and they miss all the creativity so they are not
> > copyrightable.
> > Everybody can use at least individual tracks for any purpose. At the
> > moment only OSM map data are under CC-BY-SA but track logs are free facts.
> 
> When we signed up to OSM, we agreed:
> 
> "By creating an account, you agree that all work uploaded to
> openstreetmap.org and all data created by use of any tools which connect to
> openstreetmap.org is to be (non-exclusively) licensed under this Creative
> Commons license (by-sa)"
> 
> Surely this includes GPS tracks?

It is clearly said and you must be right. I was just remembering how 
tracks were used in the early days. There were two alternatives for 
gpx files, either mark them as "public" or "private". For editors it 
did not make big difference because all that the user could see on the 
screen was anonymous GPS track points. Now I can see that it is possible 
to connect GPS track points with the creator of the gpx file if it is 
set as "Identifiable" 
(http://wiki.openstreetmap.org/wiki/Visibility_of_GPS_traces).

I suppose that we haven't often even tried to apply BY-SA for tracing 
from GPS track logs but only SA. The user just happily estimates some 
good average location from a seemingly anonymous GPS point cloud and 
the end result, the first version of a new OSM way gets marked as an 
original work done by that user, not as an derivative work based on a 
bunch of gpx files from various other user.