[OSM-talk] Using editors to indicate license preference.

[Ævar Arnfjörð Bjarmason]

On Sun, Jan 17, 2010 at 15:47, Anthony <osm at inbox.org> wrote:
> On Sun, Jan 17, 2010 at 10:44 AM, Frederik Ramm <frederik at remote.org> wrote:
>>
>> Anthony wrote:
>>>
>>> How exactly does one get protection as a database owner?  It's unclear to
>>> me how OSMF would get protection as a database owner since they're not the
>>> ones actually doing anything.
>>
>> You're right, just like Google doesn't own any of the data the GMM users
>> upload because Google doesn't do anything.
>
> Yes, I know I'm right.  And so does Google.  It's why Google doesn't host
> database dumps or provide an unrestricted API for GMM.
>
> That said, Google does a lot more than OSMF.  At least Google chooses what
> types of data to include/exclude.

You seem to be forgetting that Google has terms of service for map
maker: http://www.google.com/mapmaker/mapfiles/s/terms_mapmaker.html

"By submitting User Submissions to the Service, you give Google a
perpetual, irrevocable, worldwide, royalty-free, and non-exclusive
license to reproduce, adapt, modify, translate, publish, publicly
perform, publicly display, distribute, and create derivative works of
the User Submission. ...."

OpenStreetMap however does not, so CC-BY-SA wise the OSMF doesn't have
any rights over user contributions that some random third party
doesn't have. The same was the case with Wikipedia which is why they
had to convince the FSF to change the GFDL in order to change their
license.

The ODbL change plan can at best be described as more fuzzy than that :)