[Tagging] Roadside maps

[Andre Engels]

On Mon, May 17, 2010 at 7:54 AM, John Smith <deltafoxtrot256 at gmail.com> wrote:

>> cautious than we need to be. Why do we consider what's written on a
>> street sign to be a "fact", but the same words written on a map to be
>> copyrightable? And many similar examples.
>
> A map is a collection of facts, which may or may not be copyrightable
> depending on the jurisdiction, but a single fact most likely can't be
> protected by copyright, although the sign itself might be due to
> artistic flare of the designer etc etc etc.

Even if the collection is copyrighted, that does not make its elements
copyrighted. What is copyrighted in the case of such a collection, is
the (result of) the selection process that decides which facts are and
are not included.

-- 
André Engels, andreengels at gmail.com