[OSM-talk] License

[rob at robmyers.org]

Quoting "Robert (Jamie) Munro" <rjmunro at arjam.net>:

> Please can we let NPEmaps use OSM as a background for selecting
> postcodes? Currently, they want their postcodes to be public domain, and
> are afraid that by using our maps, the postcodes become CC-by-sa. We
> need to stop this silliness ASAP.

If I choose a set of co-ordinates from an OS map, my work does not become a
derivative of that OS map. This fear seems unfounded.

> What will it take to get the license changed?
>
> Can we change the T&Cs for editors on the web site right now so that all
> new data has a "you give the foundation a non-exclusive license to do
> whatever they want with your data. They promise, at a minimum, to make
> it available under CC-by-NA, but may make it available under additional
> licenses in future",

This is a good idea in practical terms (a better licence than SA could become
popular that is incompatible with it) but a bad idea in project terms (people
will not trust such an open-ended grant when the licensing of a project is
undecided ideologically).

> then add a thing which gets existing users to agree
> to this license change. Once we have most of the users agreed, we
> reassess our position, try to track down missing users, then delete
> their data if we can't find them. We'll soon be able to add the data back.

Copyright assignment might be a more robust way of doing this.

But if people are being asked to assign work to a project that can switch from
copyleft to public domain, however good the reasons, again that may make them
unwilling to contribute.

- Rob.