[OSM-talk] Copyright of old (Irish) maps

[Lars Aronsson]

Robert Scott wrote:

> In the bizarre world of copyright law, merely the act of 
> scanning the map in (and correcting & retouching areas) creates 
> a 'new work'. Albeit one derived from public domain data.

It is important, however, to separate the copyright claims made by 
the republishers (they are very eager to claim copyright, and use 
all kinds of scare tactics) from the actual legal status (which 
can only be tested in court).  It is very uncommon that a 
republisher is punished for falsely having claimed a copyright, so 
they have nothing to lose from abusing this instrument.


-- 
  Lars Aronsson (lars at aronsson.se)
  Aronsson Datateknik - http://aronsson.se