[OSM-talk] Illegal activity

[Jukka Rahkonen]

Pieren <pieren3 <at> gmail.com> writes:

> I don't like this thread because it could leave the impression that
> tracing on orthophotos is not a copyright infringement. Unfortunately,
> it is. 

I don't know how important it to struggle about copyrights and tracing vector
data on imagery.  It should be enough to say that using imagery from Google
Earth or Google Maps may be against Google ToC, even it is not clear, and we
have our own rules that as long as it is not clearly allowed we do not use it
for OSM. But this copyright thing is so great fun that I'll continue it a bit.

Let's see the satellite image layer with Google Maps or Yahoo Maps.  You can
read there, for example, "Imagery (C) DigitalGlobe, GeoEye". What does it mean?
It gives a hint that the copyright of the imagegy does not even belong to Google
or Yahoo.

Have a look at standard license of Spot Image
http://www.spotimage.fr/automne_modules_files/ftp-generic/eula-E.pdf
and QuickBird license
http://www.digitalglobe.com/digitalglobe2/file.php/646/QuickBird_Imagery_Products-Product_Guide.pdf

Both of the companies do mention vector data derived from imagery in their
license terms. Both are saying that customers can create derivative vector data
and do what ever they want with those data. Neither of them claim that the image
companies should have any copyrights over the derived vector data. Buy a license
from Spot Image or DigitalGlobe and you can trace what ever you want (not
including DEMs) and upload the data into OSM without a bad word.

My conclusion is that tracing from Google may be Google ToC infringement. If it
is copyright infringement then Google is not the other party, it is the image
company. And then it would be a bit odd that it is an infringement when the same
imagery is looked through Google API but not when looked through Yahoo API. It
may be true, still, odd things happen and Google and Yahoo may have made
different contracts. Yahoo obviously paying more because of more open licence
terms? But all in all, because of uncertain ToC situation it is better not to
use Google or Bing satellite imagery in OSM.