[OSM-talk] Why the BSD vs GPL debate is irrelevant to OSM

[Kenneth Gonsalves]

On Sunday 13 Dec 2009 2:55:10 am Liz wrote:
> On Sun, 13 Dec 2009, andrzej zaborowski wrote:
> > > Sure, but what does it mean for geospatial data to "be free"?
> >
> > In short that I can improve it and send to friends.  In detail I will
> > take the definition from http://opendefinition.org/1.0
> 
> Could be just the same as the law and medical knowledge
> When you go to the lawyers, you pay for the lawyer's expertise. The lawyer 
> looks up the law in law books, statutes etc, and uses that information for 
> you, without paying some licence fee or tax for that knowledge. (S)he looks
>  up  past cases to see what points made a case go one way or the other.
>  That knowledge is free to use, perhaps not free as in beer, as the books
>  are bought from a printer / publisher.

no one goes to a lawyer for truth or justice - they go to lawyers to win their 
cases. 
> 
> Actually it is ironic that lawyers use free knowledge to lock up other 
> peoples' knowledge.

what does this mean?


-- 
regards
Kenneth Gonsalves
Senior Project Officer
NRC-FOSS
http://nrcfosshelpline.in/web/