> -----Original Message----- > From: [EMAIL PROTECTED] [mailto:legal-talk- > [EMAIL PROTECTED] On Behalf Of [EMAIL PROTECTED] > Sent: 15 October 2008 20:46 > To: Licensing and other legal discussions. > Subject: [Spam] Re: [OSM-legal-talk] Licence brief/Use Case - final call > forcomments > > The key seems to be individually accessible in a systemic way. > > To me this implies attributes (columns) and tuples (rows of one or > more related attributes) that can be accessed. > > A bit map would not be a database, but XML, csv, xls, shape files > would. The interesting distinction may be vector data that is not > organized in a direct searchable fashion - so, would svg (for example) > be a database? Hmmmm... >
I think it is the greater use of vector data that is one of the issues that is freaking the commercial players out at the moment. I have seen Ordnance Survey licences for web services that say clearly 'no vector data', but as formats move to higher semantic formats how can they avoid it. Their products will fall behind if people can't transfer vector descriptions to the client machine? For the share-alike licence the distinction between a database and something like svg that can be reverse engineered into a database again is small. For the share-alike and PD it could be argued using vector data is an asset because it makes the data re-useable. The only limitation is that one should not reverse engineer a new DB outside the rules of share-alike from a share-alike DB using this method, however neither PD nor share-alike suffer from the secrecy problem that commercial providers have. Fun and games! Regards, Peter > Jim Brown -CTO CloudMade > > (Sent from my iPhone) > > On 15 Oct 2008, at 17:28, Jochen Topf <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote: > > > On Wed, Oct 15, 2008 at 02:47:39PM +0100, Richard Fairhurst wrote: > >> Frederik Ramm wrote: > >> > >>> What leads you to assume that your .ai files are databases? > >>> > >>> They're computer readable and they have individual objects that can > >>> be accessed... but what file hasn't? > >> > >> From ODBL: "Database - A collection of Data arranged in a systema > >> tic > >> or methodical way and individually accessible by electronic or other > >> means offered under the terms of this Licence." > >> > >> But I wouldn't say the .ai file is a database, it _contains_ a > >> database. > >> > >>> At what stage of processing would they, in your eyes, stop being > >>> databases? > >> > >> A sufficiently accurate, computer-produced map of the real world > >> always contains a database IMO. > > > > The Directive 96/9/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of > > 11 March 1996 on the legal protection of databases defines a > > database as > > "a collection of independent works, data or other materials arranged > > in > > a systematic or methodical way and individually accessible by > > electronic > > or other means". (From Wikipedia) > > > > This is rather broad and would certainly cover the OSM XML format and > > any other structured format. Probably not bitmaps of rendered maps, > > but > > about everything else. > > > > Jochen > > -- > > Jochen Topf [EMAIL PROTECTED] http://www.remote.org/jochen/ +49-721- > 388298 > > > > > > _______________________________________________ > > legal-talk mailing list > > [EMAIL PROTECTED] > > http://lists.openstreetmap.org/listinfo/legal-talk > _______________________________________________ > legal-talk mailing list > [EMAIL PROTECTED] > http://lists.openstreetmap.org/listinfo/legal-talk _______________________________________________ legal-talk mailing list [EMAIL PROTECTED] http://lists.openstreetmap.org/listinfo/legal-talk
