[OSM-talk] Australia has Google Street View!
Simon Hewison
simon at zymurgy.org
Tue Aug 5 11:53:37 BST 2008
wer-ist-roger wrote:
> Hello Stefan,
>
>> Interesting question. Are we allowed to use street view images for
>> mapping (filling in street names, amenities, house numbers) or do we
>> need explicit permission like for aerial images?
>
> If your not sure about the legal aspect DON'T use it!
> And from my point of few it is not allowed to use Googles photos.
And if Google were partly evil (though they claim not to be), they might alter
their image obfuscating code (to blur people's faces etc) to identify street
name signs, and transpose one street sign onto another, and create an easter
egg in their creative work.
Since they already claim to have the ability to blur vehicle registration
plates, and people's faces, if this needs even a little human intervention to
achieve, then it could be counted as a creative work, and subject to not only
database right (the geolocation / rectification work of the images), and
copyright on the eventual image that has has processing done on it.
So. I wouldn't trust it, and I wouldn't use it, unless Google can explicitly
say we're allowed to do it, and if Google can explicitly say that they're not
doctoring the bits of the images that we're interested in - like street names,
building names and so on)
--
SImon Hewison
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