[OSM-talk] Data copied from Google Maps

Stephan Knauss osm at stephans-server.de
Sat Nov 3 19:09:05 GMT 2012


On 03.11.2012 19:25, Andrew MacKinnon wrote:
> Is copying from Google search acceptable anyway?
I say yes. Even this is inferior mapping like any kind of armchair mapping.

Let's assume one enters website addresses and phone numbers of 
restaurants. Tagging phone= and website=.

You are not copying any data from Google or a Google database. You use 
Google to look up factual data. Google returns a link to a website 
brought online by most likely the operator of the restaurant in my 
example here. That site lists the data.

Please forward your question to the legal-talk mailing list for a better 
clarification, but my common sense says this can never be copyrighted 
data (it's factual data). Also too little to claim database rights.


This still leaves the possibility that some user does copy from Google 
Maps. Not too easy for them. To my knowledge all big editors prevent 
users from using Google imagery as a background image. So without using 
modified versions it's not possible. I have doubts that beginner users 
are capable of doing so.

As you mentioned StreetView: Using it to create a database is likely a 
violation of their TOS and OSM does not want this practice.

In which way Google could have copyright or database rights on factual 
data derived from their imagery is still an open question. To discuss 
this more deeply better refer to legal-talk. Starting point for reading:
http://wiki.openstreetmap.org/wiki/Copyright_in_deriving_from_aerial_photography

Stephan




More information about the talk mailing list