[OSM-legal-talk] License Cut-over and critical mass
Rob Myers
rob at robmyers.org
Mon Jul 19 12:46:27 BST 2010
On Mon, 19 Jul 2010 21:30:22 +1000, John Smith <deltafoxtrot256 at gmail.com>
wrote:
>
> The difference here is companies like Teleatlas would sue someone for
> massive damages if the contract was breached in the first place, which
> would be OSM-F's only relief, OSM-F won't have a contract with any 3rd
> party that may download data from (I like Rob's example better)
> picking up a copy left on a bus.
The FSF have found that people almost always prefer complying with
licences to being sued for damages and compliance.
I don't see why it would be different for OSM(F).
>> This is the same about anything using contract law. Someone breaking
the
>> contract and redistributing it doesn't remove the contract that is
given
>
> Contracts aren't licenses, they don't transfer like copyright does...
Yes, a lot of our experience and assumptions based on copyright licences
don't apply to thinking about contract-based """licences""".
A licence gives you extra permission that you would not otherwise have. So
if I find a copy of (for example) Wikipedia or GNU/Linux on a bus, I do not
under copyright law have permission to do very much with it. My only legal
defence for copying or adapting it beyond the limits of fair use/fair
dealing is the copyright licence accompanying it.
By comparison a contract imposes extra restrictions on you if you agree to
it. In the absence of Copyright or Database Right on a data(base) dump that
I receive, I would be able to do whatever I like with it including using
contract law to prevent anyone else from doing whatever they like when they
receive it from me.
(I am not a lawyer, etc.)
- Rob.
More information about the legal-talk
mailing list