----- Original Message ----- From: "ThomasB" <toba0...@yahoo.de>
To: <legal-talk@openstreetmap.org>
Sent: Wednesday, June 22, 2011 2:18 PM
Subject: [OSM-legal-talk] Exception in Open Data License/Community Guidelines for temporary file


Dear Legal-list,

My question applies to all kind of software that process OSM data but I am
using Garmin maps as a popular example.

Generating Garmin maps with contours is pretty easy and sometimes completely
GUI driven. You select an OSM file, click a button and get a Garmin map. I
have distributed such maps sometimes (for free) to some interested people
who asked me.

First thing to note, is that it is my understanding that the "OSM file" you refer to above is also a "derivate database".

In the background it downloads SRTM data from cgiar.org (Consultative Group
on International Agricultural Research) and seeds that data into the OSM
data. I think technically they are added as normal osm-ways with specials
tags for the renderer. The cgiar data is non-commercial only (cc-by-sa-nc)
licensed. The final Garmin map is rendered from a temporary file that
contains both datasets and would constitute a Derivative Database.
My point is that a user of software, and this is not limited to Garmin map
software, may not know what a software does in the background i.e. if it is
creating a (temporary) Derivative Database, a Collective Database or
whatever. It is unrealistic that a user of software browses through the
directories and check the content of the files there, particularly if the
file exist only a short time during the process. So applying the ODbL rules
to software generated temporary files would lead me to the conclusion that
the solution is "don't ask, don't mind". Although I personally could live
with that I am not sure if it wouldn't be better to sort it out.
The Trivial Transformations Guideline or Community Guidelines could be a
good place to make it easier. I am neither a license expert nor a lawyer.
From a practical point of view I would wish a clarification like:
/"Temporary software generated files used for the generation of a Produced
Work or a Derivative Database that
i) contain data from OSM,
ii) may contain data from other (licensed) sources,
iii) are only created and used for the purpose of the generation of one
Produced Work or one Derivative Database,
iv) will not be used for any purpose thereafter,
v) will not be distributed or made publicly available
do not constitute a derivative database, collective database or produced
work"/

But I am not sure about any other (unwanted) implication it may have.


As far as I can see, ignoring your specific example, and genearlising, the "unwanted implication" of your clarification above would be that as long as someone deleted the derivate database they had created they could then claim it was "temporary" and therefore sidestep the requirements of the ODbL to distribute it. To avoid this you would thenhave to start defining "temporary" etc.

Regards

David


Kind regards
Thomas

--
View this message in context: http://gis.638310.n2.nabble.com/Exception-in-Open-Data-License-Community-Guidelines-for-temporary-file-tp6504201p6504201.html
Sent from the Legal Talk mailing list archive at Nabble.com.

_______________________________________________
legal-talk mailing list
legal-talk@openstreetmap.org
http://lists.openstreetmap.org/listinfo/legal-talk






_______________________________________________
legal-talk mailing list
legal-talk@openstreetmap.org
http://lists.openstreetmap.org/listinfo/legal-talk

Reply via email to