I should have cited the AG opinion in my previous message:
NO: 04-1105 Attorney General Bill Lockyer Deputy Attorney General Daniel Stone Landon Office Phone Number: (209) 946-0268 Cell Phone Number: (209) 992-0658 ________________________________ From: [email protected] [mailto:[email protected]] On Behalf Of Landon Blake Sent: Wednesday, March 04, 2009 10:11 AM To: [email protected] Subject: [Geowanking] Access to public geodata in California. I'm thinking about writing a letter to my County's GIS department, which releases data under a very restrictive license agreement. The license agreement restriction that I the biggest problem with is: "GIS Product is not to be used for any purpose other than that indicated on the application. The applicant shall not disclose, lease, sell, distribute, make, transfer, or assign the GIS product or engage in any other transaction which has the effect of transferring the right to use for all or part of the GIS Product without prior written consent of the County of San Joaquin Community Development Department." This effectively kills my ability to distribute "public data", and it may kill my ability to distribute other data sets build from this public data. The County GIS Department has a link to the Attorney General's opinion that concludes County's must make their parcel GIS data available. (The County posted it on the website as a justification for the fees which they charge for the data. I don't have a problem with these fees, although I think there a little pricey.) The Attorney General opinion mentions the California Public Records Act several times, and concludes that parcel data maintained by the County is subject to the provisions of the act. The opinion does not appear to discuss license agreements specifically. I'm wondering if any of you are aware of a provision in the California Public Records Act that deals with license agreements for public data subject to the act. Can my County be forced to release data under the act, but then place all sorts of restrictions on the use of that data with a license agreement? It would be good to cite a law or recent court case explaining that the license agreement or the restrictive provisions of it are not allowed under California law. I'm sure that my letter will head directly from the GIS department to my County's legal department. Thanks for any help or suggestions. Landon Blake Project Surveyor California PLS 8489 Office Phone Number: (209) 946-0268 Cell Phone Number: (209) 992-0658 [email protected] 711 North Pershing Avenue Stockton, California, 95203 Warning: Information provided via electronic media is not guaranteed against defects including translation and transmission errors. If the reader is not the intended recipient, you are hereby notified that any dissemination, distribution or copying of this communication is strictly prohibited. If you have received this information in error, please notify the sender immediately.
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