[OSM-talk] Sourcing street names - what's the policy, and why?

[Anthony]

On Sat, Jan 2, 2010 at 6:49 AM, Steve Bennett <stevagewp at gmail.com> wrote:

> But now with the advent of high quality aerial photography that we can
> trace from (I'm thinking of nearmap, in australia), you don't have to visit
> the street to get the shape.
>
> But...where do you get the street name from?


*I* get it from my county property appraiser :).  YMMV.

I think there's a general policy that you can't copy it off other maps...but
> why, exactly? How can a piece of information like the name of the street be
> copyright? Whose copyright law are we dealing with, anyway?
>
> Also, what if you look up 3 other maps, and they all show the same name, is
> it ok to copy then?
>

As was pointed out, the 3 other maps may not be independent.  OTOH, if you
can get enough *independent* sources that you're certain you have the right
information, I say go for it, especially if you can find non-map-provider
sources.  However, there are others on here who adamantly disagree with
that, so don't publicize it.
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