[OSM-talk] Data copied from Google Maps

[Martin Koppenhoefer]

2012/11/6 Ian Sergeant <inas66+osm at gmail.com>:
> 4. Those who wish to use such services should take the perogative to seek
> explicit permission to use them in the OSM context.
> 5. If that permission isn't obtained, we shouldn't use them.
> So, which of these points do you disagree with?


Your conclusion from 4 ("those") to 5 ("we"): from what I read in this
thread *1 it seems that it is not sufficient to get an explicit
permission individually in order to benefit collectively from it.

So the natural conclusion would be that an "official body" from OSM
would make a request to Google and hope for a positive response if we
want to use their Street View data.

Personally I see it like Pieren: there are terms and conditions which
request you to not copy or make derivative works from their
services/maps/images/works/... where both terms (copy and derivative
work) are well defined: derivative work is refering to copyrightable
parts. Interpreting something you see in a photo is neither copying
nor creating a derivative work as long as the content is not protected
by copyright (the name of a street is not protected by copyright or
even if it was it would not be Google to hold the copyright as long as
they didn't invent it (easter egg)).

Anyway: the most precious ways to add to OSM are those where Google
Streetview didn't even pass by, so in my practical work I don't use
them because they mostly don't have the pictures for the areas I'm
mapping in ;-)

cheers,
Martin

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*1 Frederik: "I don't think that a personal message to one individual
mapper from someone, even if in a high position at Google, should be
read as Google allowing every mapper to use their imagery."