[OSM-talk] What could we do to make this licences discussion more inclusive?

[Ben Last]

On 19 July 2010 10:18, John Smith <deltafoxtrot256 at gmail.com> wrote:

> On 19 July 2010 09:04, Richard Weait <richard at weait.com> wrote:
> > I don't recall seeing the nice folks from NearMap posting on this
> > thread.  I do recall an assertion from another poster that NearMap is
> > firm on the map data being Share-Alike, as is will be under ODbL.  But
> > no quotations attributed to NearMap, nor posts from them here.  I
> > think it does a disservice to NearMap to presume that anybody other
> > than their staff speak for them.
> I'll emailed them privately and asked them just like anyone else can,
> I didn't ask to republish their email but even if you don't believe me
> their current terms spell out their current position, that is a share
> alike license like CC-by-SA


As John has, quite correctly, been polite enough not to share Stuart Nixon's
email reply with the list, here it is below (release approved by Stuart):

"NearMap is keen to continue to support OSM with our PhotoMaps (noting
that in the future we will be expanding to Europe and other areas).

As our PhotoMaps are central to our business, we can only offer them
under a CC-BY-SA (or similar) license, and the license must preserve
this (e.g. not take away these rights at a later date).  It is
critical to us that the license is Share Alike, so it must be CC-BY-SA
style, not CC-BY style."

In a separate email (to Liz Dodd, cc John), Stuart added:

"We are watching what is going on with some concern. I'm not sure what
we will do if OSM splinters; as you may know there are already other
groups working on street maps, and we don't support them as we would
rather work with a single open community.

Perhaps you could contact Yahoo to see what their view is on where OSM
is going; I would guess they would have similar requirements to
ourselves. If OSM became aware of the issues a non-CC-BY-SA style
license, or one that can change in the future, causes for commercial
groups trying to support OSM, then perhaps they can tune the process
to continue to encourage commercial support.

It is worth noting that in the longer term NearMap plans to cover much
more of the world's population, and we do hope we can continue to work
with OSM."

It's probably also worth quoting from our Copyright and Credits page (
http://www.nearmap.com/legal/copyright), which sets out our point of view:

"Copyrights and credits

We hope you enjoy using our website and our PhotoMaps. We’ve worked very
hard to bring them to you.

Use of the NearMap website and PhotoMaps is governed by our licence
terms</products/licence>
 and community guidelines </products/community-guidelines>. You may also
refer to our Terms of Use </legal/terms-of-use> for other related
information. From this publication date, our website and all the images and
PhotoMaps are copyrighted works that belong to NearMap Pty Ltd.

[image: CC-BY-SA] <http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/>We
specifically encourage creation of Creative Commons Attribution Share Alike
(CC-BY-SA) <http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/> licensed
information derived from our PhotoMap content, so that everyone can share
and build a greater understanding of our planet.
Credit where it is due!

In creating this website, we are very grateful for the additional
information from the following sources, which is provided subject to their
respective copyrights and licences.
OpenStreetMap

We support the sharing of information and knowledge.

“OpenStreetMap <http://www.openstreetmap.org/> is an editable map of the
whole world. It is made by people like you.
OpenStreetMap<http://www.openstreetmap.org/> allows
you to view, edit and use geographical data in a collaborative way from
anywhere on Earth.

OpenStreetMap creates and provides free geographic data such as street maps
to anyone who wants them. The project was started because most maps you
think of as free actually have legal or technical restrictions on their use,
holding back people from using them in creative, productive, or unexpected
ways.”

— Source: http://www.openstreetmap.org

Visit OpenStreetMap <http://www.openstreetmap.org/> to take part in the
collaboration or read more about OSM, their disclaimers and applicable terms
of use. <http://wiki.openstreetmap.org/wiki>"
You can also take it as read that many of us here at NearMap are
enthusiastic mappers and OSM contributors.  We're also working hard on ways
to allow more people to more easily contribute data to OSM.

Cheers
Ben

-- 
Ben Last
Development Manager (HyperWeb)
NearMap Pty Ltd
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