[OSM-newbies] Copyright for street names

[Bernd Raichle]

On Sunday, 6 January 2008 14:32:58 +0100,
Harald Kirsch <pifpafpuf at gmx.de> writes:
 > Am 06.01.2008 14:07 schrieb Sebastian Gebhard:
[...]
 > >> Which of those methods is ok for OSM?
 > > 
 > > I think most of them are okay.
 > > Only 5 and 7 aren't as taking the information from these sources
 > > would be "derived work". Google for example saves itself and puts
 > > mistakes in its maps. So if one would take information from
 > > google, he will also take the mistakes and so Google would have
 > > evidences that we "stole" information from them.
 > > I am not sure about number 3. Maybe someone else knows more about.
 > 
 > Isn't this a bit silly. I would think that the street name itself is in
 > the public domain. So you can use it. I would not expect that the way
 > in which you obtained the name should change this in any way.

Split your problem into two subproblems:

 a) Obtain the correct street name.
 b) Associate the street name to a way.

Subproblem a) is not really a problem; the best method to get a street
name is your own knowledge or the knowledge of another person (a
friend, a person of a company at this way etc.).  You should avoid
getting the name of a street or any other POI from a non-free
map/source, i.e., avoid Google Maps (which uses Navteq/TeleAtlas maps)
or a usual city map.

Subproblem b) is IMHO the real problem.  This association of a way (or
part of it) with a name is copyrightable.  Even if you can look up the
name itself using other non-free maps, you should never use them look
up which parts of a street has this name.  Thus avoid using non-free
maps/sources for both!  Btw. often you will find some small "errors"
in commercial maps, where a small part of a way is not associated with
the "correct" street name used in real life because of missing local
knowledge.


 > Of course
 > 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.

You can find some spelling errors and typos in other maps data, not
only fake names.  If you copy these names with errors into OSM this
will give evidence that probably other copyrightable data is also
copied which should be avoided.


 > As a consequence I would assume that it is ok to look up street names on
 > google. If it is the true street name, there is nothing legally
 > preventing me to write it down somewhere else. If, however, it is not a
 > true street name, I cannot use it. Ok, I am not a lawyer and just guessing.

Do not use Google Maps or any other non-free map source
... independent if this is legal or not.


Best wishes,
  -bernd