Re: [OSGeo-Discuss] The amicus curiae brief in the Orange County, California public records / geo data court case
This is an important case. Thanks for stepping up to take the lead on the issue MPG. Landon On Fri, Dec 16, 2011 at 7:23 PM, Michael P. Gerlek m...@flaxen.com wrote: I've volunteered to take point on this issue and do the homework, as a first step towards bringing to the Board for approval. I've started a wiki page listing some reading material about the case: http://wiki.osgeo.org/wiki/OrangeCounty_Amicus If anyone has any opinions about the issue (either pro or con!), please email me or email the list or add to the wiki. -mpg -Original Message- From: discuss-boun...@lists.osgeo.org [mailto:discuss-boun...@lists.osgeo.org] On Behalf Of Dan Putler Sent: Friday, December 16, 2011 9:08 AM To: discuss@lists.osgeo.org Subject: [OSGeo-Discuss] The amicus curiae brief in the Orange County, California public records / geo data court case Hi all, I've been in contact with Bruce Joffe who has been working on an amicus curiae (friend of the court) brief associated with two court decisions that have gone in completely opposite directions in California, one involving Santa Clara County and the other involving Orange County. The legal point is the same in both cases, is GIS data (parcel data in particular) data or is it software? If it is data, then it is covered under the California Public Records Act, requiring that it be released to the public for reproduction costs, if it is software, it isn't covered, and is subject to licensing fees. The judge in the Santa Clara County case (correctly) determined it was data, while the judge in the Orange County case (incorrectly) determined it was software. The case is now heading to the California Supreme Court, and Bruce Joffe is rounding up potential individuals and organizations to sign on to the amicus curiae brief. More details about the situation was posted on the Directions Magazine daily newsletter on Wednesday. Here is the link to the article: http://www.directionsmag.com/articles/sierra-club-vs-orange-county-pra-lawsuit-update-december-10-2011/219926 My main purpose for posting this information to this list is to determine if there is some mechanism by which the Open Geospatial Foundation can be listed as one of the supporting parties in the amicus curiae brief. I don't know if there is a mechanism for approving this, but this seems like an issue that we should have a strong interest in. Dan ___ Discuss mailing list Discuss@lists.osgeo.org http://lists.osgeo.org/mailman/listinfo/discuss ___ Discuss mailing list Discuss@lists.osgeo.org http://lists.osgeo.org/mailman/listinfo/discuss ___ Discuss mailing list Discuss@lists.osgeo.org http://lists.osgeo.org/mailman/listinfo/discuss
[OSGeo-Discuss] The amicus curiae brief in the Orange County, California public records / geo data court case
Hi all, I've been in contact with Bruce Joffe who has been working on an amicus curiae (friend of the court) brief associated with two court decisions that have gone in completely opposite directions in California, one involving Santa Clara County and the other involving Orange County. The legal point is the same in both cases, is GIS data (parcel data in particular) data or is it software? If it is data, then it is covered under the California Public Records Act, requiring that it be released to the public for reproduction costs, if it is software, it isn't covered, and is subject to licensing fees. The judge in the Santa Clara County case (correctly) determined it was data, while the judge in the Orange County case (incorrectly) determined it was software. The case is now heading to the California Supreme Court, and Bruce Joffe is rounding up potential individuals and organizations to sign on to the amicus curiae brief. More details about the situation was posted on the Directions Magazine daily newsletter on Wednesday. Here is the link to the article: http://www.directionsmag.com/articles/sierra-club-vs-orange-county-pra-lawsuit-update-december-10-2011/219926 My main purpose for posting this information to this list is to determine if there is some mechanism by which the Open Geospatial Foundation can be listed as one of the supporting parties in the amicus curiae brief. I don't know if there is a mechanism for approving this, but this seems like an issue that we should have a strong interest in. Dan ___ Discuss mailing list Discuss@lists.osgeo.org http://lists.osgeo.org/mailman/listinfo/discuss
Re: [OSGeo-Discuss] The amicus curiae brief in the Orange County, California public records / geo data court case
If the Foundation was to sign this I imagine the mechanism is Board approval. However, we may need legal advise first as making such statements might change our ability to get 501(c)3 status. We would also need to consider if the Foundation as a whole should make these types of decisions as a board or as a collective vote of the Charter members and if it needs to be consensus or majority. Basically I want to make sure that by having the Foundation take a stance we don't put off potential contributors and members or have adverse implications on the legal side. On the other side, everyone is welcome to sign as an individual geospatial professional. Thanks, Alex On 12/16/2011 09:08 AM, Dan Putler wrote: Hi all, I've been in contact with Bruce Joffe who has been working on an amicus curiae (friend of the court) brief associated with two court decisions that have gone in completely opposite directions in California, one involving Santa Clara County and the other involving Orange County. The legal point is the same in both cases, is GIS data (parcel data in particular) data or is it software? If it is data, then it is covered under the California Public Records Act, requiring that it be released to the public for reproduction costs, if it is software, it isn't covered, and is subject to licensing fees. The judge in the Santa Clara County case (correctly) determined it was data, while the judge in the Orange County case (incorrectly) determined it was software. The case is now heading to the California Supreme Court, and Bruce Joffe is rounding up potential individuals and organizations to sign on to the amicus curiae brief. More details about the situation was posted on the Directions Magazine daily newsletter on Wednesday. Here is the link to the article: http://www.directionsmag.com/articles/sierra-club-vs-orange-county-pra-lawsuit-update-december-10-2011/219926 My main purpose for posting this information to this list is to determine if there is some mechanism by which the Open Geospatial Foundation can be listed as one of the supporting parties in the amicus curiae brief. I don't know if there is a mechanism for approving this, but this seems like an issue that we should have a strong interest in. Dan ___ Discuss mailing list Discuss@lists.osgeo.org http://lists.osgeo.org/mailman/listinfo/discuss ___ Discuss mailing list Discuss@lists.osgeo.org http://lists.osgeo.org/mailman/listinfo/discuss
RE: [OSGeo-Discuss] The amicus curiae brief in the Orange County, California public records / geo data court case
I've volunteered to take point on this issue and do the homework, as a first step towards bringing to the Board for approval. I've started a wiki page listing some reading material about the case: http://wiki.osgeo.org/wiki/OrangeCounty_Amicus If anyone has any opinions about the issue (either pro or con!), please email me or email the list or add to the wiki. -mpg -Original Message- From: discuss-boun...@lists.osgeo.org [mailto:discuss-boun...@lists.osgeo.org] On Behalf Of Dan Putler Sent: Friday, December 16, 2011 9:08 AM To: discuss@lists.osgeo.org Subject: [OSGeo-Discuss] The amicus curiae brief in the Orange County, California public records / geo data court case Hi all, I've been in contact with Bruce Joffe who has been working on an amicus curiae (friend of the court) brief associated with two court decisions that have gone in completely opposite directions in California, one involving Santa Clara County and the other involving Orange County. The legal point is the same in both cases, is GIS data (parcel data in particular) data or is it software? If it is data, then it is covered under the California Public Records Act, requiring that it be released to the public for reproduction costs, if it is software, it isn't covered, and is subject to licensing fees. The judge in the Santa Clara County case (correctly) determined it was data, while the judge in the Orange County case (incorrectly) determined it was software. The case is now heading to the California Supreme Court, and Bruce Joffe is rounding up potential individuals and organizations to sign on to the amicus curiae brief. More details about the situation was posted on the Directions Magazine daily newsletter on Wednesday. Here is the link to the article: http://www.directionsmag.com/articles/sierra-club-vs-orange-county-pra-lawsuit-update-december-10-2011/219926 My main purpose for posting this information to this list is to determine if there is some mechanism by which the Open Geospatial Foundation can be listed as one of the supporting parties in the amicus curiae brief. I don't know if there is a mechanism for approving this, but this seems like an issue that we should have a strong interest in. Dan ___ Discuss mailing list Discuss@lists.osgeo.org http://lists.osgeo.org/mailman/listinfo/discuss ___ Discuss mailing list Discuss@lists.osgeo.org http://lists.osgeo.org/mailman/listinfo/discuss
