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

[Thomas Wood]

2008/11/21 Stephen Gower <socks-openstreetmap.org at earth.li>:
> 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
>

I wasn't aware that Definitive Statements were a legal requirement,
although I was aware that descriptions of boundaries are often
described (although often in an indistinct way) in legal documents,
particularly ones enforcing boundary changes. (For example
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_Greater_London_boundary_changes)

I wonder if there's a more complete DS for boundaries?

-- 
Regards,
Thomas Wood
(Edgemaster)