[Talk-GB] Copyright in OS-derived maps

[Robert Whittaker (OSM lists)]

On Tue, 3 Sep 2019 at 12:34, Edward Bainton <bainton.ete at gmail.com> wrote:
> I've been sent a map by a local charity that looks after large swathes of countryside near Peterborough. It's for their own internal use, showing the extent of their estate. It's based on an OS map, and comes with flags indicating Crown copyright
[snip]
> The bit I'm interested in is a red line picking out the boundary of the charity's territory - I asked if I could put these into OSM. That line was presumably drawn by the charity, albeit over an OS base. (Tho I suppose just possibly OS drew the red line under commission, and then I think the default is that they have the copyright.)
>
> Where do I go with the legal side of things? Is this a complete dead end as the wiki on copyright suggests? Or, if further enquiries reveal that the red line is of the charity's own production, can the charity grant me (OSM) a licence to reproduce the red line (and only the red line) on OSM?

If the line has been drawn on the OS basemap by reference to features
on the base map, then OS regards the line as "Derived Data" and claims
IP rights in it. (The alternative would be if the line was
independently surveyed (e.g. from a GPS trace), and then just layed on
top of the OS map. In which case OS wouldn't claim any rights in the
line itself.) See
https://www.ordnancesurvey.co.uk/business-and-government/help-and-support/public-sector/guidance/derived-data.html

There is a mechanism for OS licensees to release derived data under
the Open Government Licence. But reading
https://www.ordnancesurvey.co.uk/business-and-government/help-and-support/public-sector/licensing-using-os-data.html
it's not clear to me if this only applies to Public Sector Bodies that
are part of the Public Sector Mapping Agreement (PSMA). If the charity
isn't a PSMA member, I think they would have to contact OS to find out
what is allowed. A slight complicating factor if we were to be able to
use the line in OSM is that we'd have to remove the OS base map from
it before using it.

Assuming you have a friendly contact at the charity and the region
isn't too large/complicated, a more pragmatic approach might be to see
if someone there has enough personal knowledge of the area they cover,
*without* needing to refer to the OS-derived map, to be able to draw
the boundary on an OSM base map for you. You could then use that map
in OSM with just their permission.

Robert.

-- 
Robert Whittaker
https://osm.mathmos.net/