[OSM-legal-talk] Exception in Open Data License/Community Guidelines for temporary file

[David Groom]

----- Original Message ----- 
From: "ThomasB" <toba0211 at yahoo.de>
To: <legal-talk at openstreetmap.org>
Sent: Wednesday, June 22, 2011 2:18 PM
Subject: [OSM-legal-talk] Exception in Open Data License/Community 
Guidelines for temporary file


> Dear Legal-list,
>
> My question applies to all kind of software that process OSM data but I am
> using Garmin maps as a popular example.
>
> Generating Garmin maps with contours is pretty easy and sometimes 
> completely
> GUI driven. You select an OSM file, click a button and get a Garmin map. I
> have distributed such maps sometimes (for free) to some interested people
> who asked me.

First thing to note, is that it is my understanding that the "OSM file" you 
refer to above is also a "derivate database".

> In the background it downloads SRTM data from cgiar.org (Consultative 
> Group
> on International Agricultural Research) and seeds that data into the OSM
> data. I think technically they are added as normal osm-ways with specials
> tags for the renderer. The cgiar data is non-commercial only (cc-by-sa-nc)
> licensed. The final Garmin map is rendered from a temporary file that
> contains both datasets and would constitute a Derivative Database.
> My point is that a user of software, and this is not limited to Garmin map
> software, may not know what a software does in the background i.e. if it 
> is
> creating a (temporary) Derivative Database, a Collective Database or
> whatever. It is unrealistic that a user of software browses through the
> directories and check the content of the files there, particularly if the
> file exist only a short time during the process. So applying the ODbL 
> rules
> to software generated temporary files would lead me to the conclusion that
> the solution is "don't ask, don't mind". Although I personally could live
> with that I am not sure if it wouldn't be better to sort it out.
> The Trivial Transformations Guideline or Community Guidelines could be a
> good place to make it easier. I am neither a license expert nor a lawyer.
> From a practical point of view I would wish a clarification like:
> /"Temporary software generated files used for the generation of a Produced
> Work or a Derivative Database that
> i) contain data from OSM,
> ii) may contain data from other (licensed) sources,
> iii) are only created and used for the purpose of the generation of one
> Produced Work or one Derivative Database,
> iv) will not be used for any purpose thereafter,
> v) will not be distributed or made publicly available
> do not constitute a derivative database, collective database or produced
> work"/
>
> But I am not sure about any other (unwanted) implication it may have.
>

As far as I can see, ignoring your specific example, and genearlising, the 
"unwanted implication" of your clarification above would be that as long as 
someone deleted the derivate database they had created they could then claim 
it was "temporary" and therefore sidestep the requirements of the ODbL to 
distribute it.  To avoid this you would thenhave to start defining 
"temporary" etc.

Regards

David

>
> Kind regards
> Thomas
>
> --
> View this message in context: 
> http://gis.638310.n2.nabble.com/Exception-in-Open-Data-License-Community-Guidelines-for-temporary-file-tp6504201p6504201.html
> Sent from the Legal Talk mailing list archive at Nabble.com.
>
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