[OSM-legal-talk] Someone already had a look at theBing TermsofUse?

Frederik Ramm frederik at remote.org
Wed Dec 22 23:27:07 GMT 2010


Hi,

Ian Sergeant wrote:
> So, the question is, when MegaMap adopt OSM maps, which are generated from
> Bing traces, what will Microsoft think then?  Do they really understand
> what allowing contributions to OSM means?

This leads us to the terrain of who determines what megacorps "think" or 
"understand". But generally, we have to assume that this deal has been 
struck after intense talks with Steve Coast who has been at, or very 
close to, the epicentre of the whoe licensing debate basically since it 
started 2007. So unless he has cunningly misled his now employer (why 
would he do that?), we have to assume that all parties actually do what 
they do in the fullest possible knowledge of the consequences.

> I've always considered my personal contributions to OSM PD, from both yahoo
> and GPS traces.  I've just done that via the wiki declaration box.  I guess
> if I trace Bing imagery, I can't consider those traces PD, can I? 

That's another area wide open to discussion; my interpretation of "I 
consider my contributions PD" has always been: "I don't claim any rights 
in what I contribute." - not: "I vouch for nobody holding any rights in 
what I contribute." (The latter position would not allow me to delete 
and re-upload an object that has been edited by someone under CC-BY-SA, 
something which I sometimes do e.g. if a relation has 1000 versions or so.)

> In fact
> if we follow this line of reasoning, my trace would be under a Microsoft
> licence which permits me to only upload it to OSM, and after that is done,
> it is then available under CC-BY-SA to all?

I guess so - more precisely, "available under whatever license OSM uses 
at that time".

Bye
Frederik

-- 
Frederik Ramm  ##  eMail frederik at remote.org  ##  N49°00'09" E008°23'33"



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