[OSM-talk-be] Mapping GRs?

[Lennard]

Peter Bienstman wrote:

> Perhaps there is a subtle legal difference here between marking the *location* 
> of the white/red marks as nodes (which is clearly a physical feature), as 
> opposed to marking the entire *route* as a relation (which is not really a 
> physical feature, but more like an intellectual creation).

Once we mark or note locations of markers, it's more or less a 
fill-in-the-blanks excercise, which is then *our* creation. When there 
are sufficient markers out in the field, there's only 1 logical route to 
follow between them. We did not copy the route from another map, but we 
found the markers, which are in the public domain, and made up the route 
between them ourselves.

> I'm still not convinced we're safe. See e.g. the letter FFRandonnée sent to 
> the author of this site:
> 
> http://www.balades-pyrenees.com/numero_55.htm

They state the signs (white/red, yellow/red) and the names GR/GRR/PR are 
registered. No different from Belgium or The Netherlands.

They also state the routes they created are copyrighted, which was 
recognised by a court, once. Which is also fine, but we are creating our 
own route between the public markers. The route itself then, as a 
collection of ways, is our work, our sweat of the brow.

The people that put these routes into OSM based on their own field trip 
have expended considerable effort in the creation of their product, even 
if there might not be substantial creativity involved. That last 
argument is not important, under the EU database directive.

Databases Directive 96/9/EC:

http://eur-lex.europa.eu/LexUriServ/LexUriServ.do?uri=CELEX:31996L0009:NL:HTML
http://eur-lex.europa.eu/LexUriServ/LexUriServ.do?uri=CELEX:31996L0009:FR:HTML

Which was put into law in Belgium:

http://www.wipo.int/clea/fr/text_html.jsp?lang=fr&id=406

> It seems that just by reproducing the signs on 
> http://wiki.openstreetmap.org/wiki/WikiProject_Belgium/Walking_Routes we are 
> already in trouble...

This is the only thing that could, possibly, pose a problem. I'd say 
it's fair to illustrate the public markers by putting up a few example 
photographs of them. Clearly that falls under fair usage.

> Perhaps once the legal charter is in place, somebody should contact de 
> vereniging Grote Routepaden?

Possibly.


-- 
Lennard