[OSM-talk] [OSM-legal-talk] OSMF - OSM usage guidelines

[Karl Newman]

On Nov 18, 2007 1:23 PM, Andrew MacKinnon <andrewpmk at gmail.com> wrote:
> On Nov 18, 2007 6:10 AM, Nick Whitelegg <nick at hogweed.org> wrote:
> > On Sunday 18 Nov 2007 10:49, Nick Black wrote:
> > > On Nov 16, 2007 10:42 AM, Steve Coast <steve at asklater.com> wrote:
> > > > * Asking people living on a street what its name is when there is no
> > > > road sign.
> > >
> > > I'm guessing this is so that hoards of OSM people don't start door
> > > knocking, which I believe is illegal without a permit in the UK.  Or
> > > is this because the person you ask might be quoting for a copyrighted
> > > source?
> >
> > I think one could tell that though - if they have to look it up on an Ordnance
> > Survey map that would be the case, but if they don't, it wouldn't. Also
> > brings up that question about whether the OS hold copyright on people's
> > learning (if I learnt the name of something on an OS map in 1981, does the OS
> > still hold copyright on my knowledge of it? I'd presume common sense would
> > say no)
>
> How is this any different from copying the name of a street from a
> street sign? The name on the street sign was likely originally derived
> from a copyrighted OS map, but like one's knowledge, facts aren't
> copyrightable. If we want to ban asking residents for street names we
> would have to ban looking at street signs too.

And honestly, what's the harm in *comparing* to a copyrighted map? I'm
thinking side-by-side in a non-automated manner (i.e, not synchronized
scrolling), and not overlaid. My envisioned usage is as a QC function,
to identify areas which might need to be physically verified--spelling
differences, missing roads (easter eggs?), etc. So, 1. What's the harm
in that, and 2. How would anyone ever detect you had done it, let
alone prove it?

Karl