[OSM-talk] Ordnance Survey tries to reinforce its strangleholdover "derived" geographic data in the UK

[Stephen Gower]

On Thu, Nov 20, 2008 at 01:58:43PM -0000, Andy Robinson (blackadder-lists) wrote:
> 
> The problem here is who says it's a public right of way. If you ask your
> local authority they will bring out there plans which give the details and
> reference numbers but these of course exist on OS mapping. Not easy to be
> definitive.

The Definitive Map (DM) exists on OS mapping, but the other legal document
The Definitive Statement (DS) is purely textual descriptions of each path.
Those for Hampshire are on-line at
http://www3.hants.gov.uk/row/locating-row/definitive-statement.htm and look
very similar to the Oxfordshire ones I've seen at the library.

I think it would be possible to take *just* the DS and an on-the-ground
survey and have something close-to definitive in itself.  This of course
raises futher questions :- 

The DS and DM are closely related, is the DS contaminated by the OS licence,
even though it is not a map?
By using the DS and a survey, would we just be recreating the DM and
somehow infringing the OS copyright?
The "Public Footpath" signs will have been placed based on infomation in the
DM - do we risk infringing OS copyright by using these to map RoW?

s