[OSM-newbies] Copyright for street names

[Denver Gingerich]

On Jan 6, 2008 10:08 AM, Prolineserver <prolineserver at gmail.com> wrote:
> Tony Bowden schrieb:
> > Harald Kirsch wrote:
> >> fake names on google maps are a problem, because if these are not real
> >> street names they are likely not in the public domain, but rather
> >> copyrighted work of google who made them up.
> >
> > A street name is too short to be copyrightable.
>
> I think the copyright is independent from the length of a text. But I
> think names of streets are not copyrighted since they don't meet a
> minimum threshold of originality ("Schöpfungshöhe") since they are mosly
> only formed using a name of a person or even a number etc. And even if
> there are names meeting this threshold or containing copyrighted names
> ("Microsoft avenue") at least according to german law they should be in
> PD since § 5 Abs. 1 UrhG
> (http://www.gesetze-im-internet.de/urhg/__5.html). But I don't know
> about the situation in other countries...

I think you mean "trademarked names" (presumably referring to the word
"Microsoft" in your example).  As you mentioned, these names are too
short to be copyrightable (they don't constitute a "creative work").

It is important to understand the differences between copyright,
trademarks, and patents, especially in this type of discussion.  See
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Copyright#Similar_legal_rights for more
information.

Denver