[Talk-GB] Official cycle accident information released as raw data with easting/northing

Andrew Chadwick (email lists) andrewc-email-lists at piffle.org
Tue Mar 17 12:38:09 GMT 2009


Jason Cunningham wrote:
> I assume the OS grid reference scheme is out of copyright? Or does some
> different form of copyright apply?

It's an extremely well-known algorithm, and a widely implemented one.
One can translate between the two using something like
http://search.cpan.org/~toby/Geo-Coordinates-OSGB-2.04/ OSGB itself
quite freely.

However, you may not use the OSTN02 corrections for OSM work without
being infected with crown copyright according to that package's README:

# COPYRIGHT AND LICENCE
#
# Copyright (C) 2002-2008 Toby Thurston
#
# OSTN02 transformation data is freely available but remains Crown
# Copyright (C) 2002

Given that most handheld GPS devices will most probably be using OSTN02
internally, you can't even use grid references exported from handheld
GPS devices because you're not certain that OSTN02 hasn't been used.
That's my reading of the problem.

This is a bit annoying for me, since I've been correcting a bunch of OOC
O/S large-scale maps on wrp.geothings.net recently using a Dodgy Perl
Script using just that transform. I'm going to have to go back and redo
them all using inaccurate plain ol' OSGB36 now before I can use them.
Bugger.

>  Its fair to assume that these grid coordinates were derived using an OS
> map, but they could have been derived using another map.

Or indeed from a GPS device outputting in OSGB36

> Therefore assume OS can't "lay claim" to to the data, because they cant show
> it uses their copyrighted data.

Like I say, it also depends on the route the data has taken. OSM works
in plain WGS84 for a reason :)

> 2009/3/17 Ed Loach <ed at loach.me.uk>
> 
>>> Indeed, but OS lays claim to data _derived_ from their maps,
>>> not just
>>> copying of the maps.
>> If GPS co-ordinates were the original source of the data, but they
>> had been converted to grid references to make it easier for people
>> to try looking up the locations on OS maps, would they still try and
>> lay claim to it? Or would they thank the source of the data for
>> promoting their maps. My guess is perhaps "both".

The project has to assume that the answers will be "yes", and "no,
they'll sue". See the README linked above.

It's not so much that it's derived from their maps. It's because it's
derived from the OSTN02 data.


I hope to be corrected. I'd like to be proven wrong because it would be
more convenient for me.

-- 
Andrew Chadwick




More information about the Talk-GB mailing list