[OSM-talk] [Announce] OSMF license change vote has started

[Matt Amos]

On Sun, Dec 6, 2009 at 6:13 AM, Anthony <osm at inbox.org> wrote:
> On Sun, Dec 6, 2009 at 12:47 AM, Matt Amos <zerebubuth at gmail.com> wrote:
>>
>> CC BY-SA imposes requirements *using* copyright law.
>
> No it doesn't.  Copyright law imposes requirements.  CC-BY-SA provides a
> waiver to some of those requirements.

a conditional waiver - the conditions of which aren't imposed by copyright law.

>> > ODbL, on the other hand, is a standard bilateral contract.
>>
>> which still gives you *more* rights.
>
> What right does it give me which I didn't already have?

under the current license, in your jurisdiction, apparently none.

>> from my reading of creative commons comments they're saying something
>> very different from what you seem to be saying. but maybe i'm just
>> misunderstanding you.
>
> I guess so, which is why I quoted them.
>
>> > The result is that the ODbL can in certain
>> > circumstances impose obligations and restrictions on users under a
>> > contract
>> > theory, rather than based on a protection afforded by statute, common
>> > law,
>> > or other recognized right.
>>
>> indeed. this is kind of the point: the US and some other jurisdictions
>> don't yet have a database rights law, so to enforce similar
>> restrictions to CC BY-SA it's necessary to use some other method.
>
> Okay, well, that's my point.  I don't want to have those restrictions
> imposed.

they're intended to be imposed. CC BY-SA doesn't work, but the
intention of the licensing is clear. did you look at the CC BY-SA
license and say, "hey, these guys want me to share-alike, but i'm in a
jurisdiction where that's unenforceable, so i'll just take the data,
not attribute and give nothing back"?

> Although, I don't see how they're "similar restrictions to CC-BY-SA", since
> you agree that CC-BY-SA doesn't enforce those restrictions.

yes, i should have said "similar restrictions to those that intended
by a choice of CC BY-SA", but sometimes i get bored of typing so much
;-)

> I live in the United States.  I can do whatever the heck I want with the OSM
> database.  Now you want me to agree to a contract limiting those rights.  So
> I'll ask again:  What's in it for me?

nothing directly. but maybe you'd like to respect the intentions of
those other contributors who agreed to a license that they thought
would ensure that you can't do whatever the heck you want without
attributing and sharing-alike?

cheers,

matt