Paweł Paprota writes: > Unless you protect and license your work, you *will* be exploited > by a powerful corporation.
It is not possible for any powerful corporation to exploit OpenStreetMap data. That's because OpenStreetMap is not way #20101312, it is Paweł Paprota. OpenStreetMap is not node #1511064846, it is Richard Weait. OpenStreetMap is not relation #445288, it is Ian Dees. Etc. Someone could take those ways, nodes, and relations and do something with them. We would still have our own copy of them. We would still have Paweł Paprota, Richard Weait, and Ian Dees. Nobody can take that away from us. We cannot be exploited, because we are not the data, we *create* the data. It would not be difficult to change the license, because the choice of license now lies with the OSM Foundation. I would note that one of the potential customers of OSM data -- the USGS -- would require that the data be in the public domain -- which is the license[1] I have always advocated for, from the day I heard about a potential license change. My understanding is that the license is the only thing keeping the USGS from using, and thus contributing to, OSM. [1] Or distribution policy; whatever; not an interesting discussion. --- --my blog is at http://blog.russnelson.com Crynwr supports open source software 521 Pleasant Valley Rd. | +1 315-600-8815 Potsdam, NY 13676-3213 | Sheepdog _______________________________________________ talk mailing list talk@openstreetmap.org https://lists.openstreetmap.org/listinfo/talk