[OSM-legal-talk] data derived from UK Ordnace Survey

[Robert Whittaker (OSM)]

On 16 June 2011 09:55, Richard Fairhurst <richard at systemed.net> wrote:
> Robert Whittaker wrote:
>> A major purpose of the CTs is to ensure that all the data
>> remaining in OSM is suitable for re-licensing under any "Free
>> and Open" license without the need for further checks.
>
> No, that hasn't been the case since Contributor Terms 1.2 were proposed in
> November 2010 and subsequently adopted.
>
> 1.2.x say: "If you contribute Contents, You are indicating that, as far as
> You know, You have the right to authorize OSMF to use and distribute those
> Contents under our _current_ licence terms" (my emphasis).

I'm sorry, but I believe that you're mistaken here.

Your interpretation of what you've quoted from clause 1(a) is correct,
but there are additional requirements elsewhere in the CTs which go
beyond this. In particular Clause 2 requires an extensive rights grant
to OSMF, which would, in particular, give them the right (without any
further checking of the source's requirements) to re-license your
contributions under any "free and open" license. If you do not have
the right to give this right to OSMF for all the contents you have
contributed, then you are not able comply with the CTs, and therefore
should not sign them. Nothing in clause 2 says that weaker clause 1
must over-ride it (note that clause 2 specifically mentions that it is
"Subject to Section 3 and 4 below" but contains no mention of section
1. So by default you have to comply with both clauses 1 and 2
separately.)

If OSMF / LWG intended to only require contributed data complied with
the current license, then I believe they have made a mistake in the
wording of clause 2. However I don't think they made a mistake, as
there was an amendment to clause 2 in a previous draft of the CTs,
which would have allowed contents based on third-party sources to be
submitted without violating clause 2, but this was reverted in a later
draft.

Maybe LWG would care to comment here on what they intended, and what
they believe the effect of the current CTs actually is.

Robert.

-- 
Robert Whittaker