Don't get me started....this is my pet project and it drives me mad. I spoke about this very topic at Where2 several years ago-the intersection of GIS and public policy in many countries is very muddy. Federal government may not hold copyright in the US, and many jurisdictions feel the same way for various reasons (taxpayer financed, industry is better at monetizing, etc...). Parcel data in some counties costs $300,000 and others make it available for next to nothing-nothing to do with size, density, etc...Some county clerk has a great idea for generating revenue, but he's in the wrong business to be doing that.
Courts in different federal and state jurisdictions have (unfortunately) ruled different ways on this, but for different reasons, and there's no clear law on the books. The Feist decision is close-ish, but not completely. I urge you to distribute this public data and see what happens-will the county sue you? On what grounds? If you try and negotiate a commercial license, they might just say 'no.' So you are screwed unless you follow what the marketers say: "just do it." I can develop a license that says I will give you one of my award-winning Panamaps for free if you do a handstand. Up to you to comply. If not, you don't get my map. But I'm a private party. Breach the agreement and see what they do. I'm not an attny and I'm not giving legal advice, but it's hard to engage with a party that won't engage with you. Same goes for transit data-I like collecting schedule data--*lots* of it. Some parties have access to it, but others are restricted in its use. I read about somebody who asked for the NYC schedule data after Google announced it. And the NYCTA said the data doesn't exist. Duh. Of course it does. People are lazy, like to protect their turf, and tend to take calls from companies with a glowing public persona. Hell, I'd do the same thing. Some transit agencies won't provide information about transit stations/schedules citing national security-I kid you not. It's absurd. This is why I call this the rise of the bagelocracy-everybody knows there is no 'threat' to knowing when the trains stop at your friendly neighborhood station, but attnys are on staff and they need to be productive. And bureaucrats have no incentive to do anything other than "just say no." My 2c (and marketing spin) Ian White :: Urban Mapping Inc 690 Fifth Street Suite 200 :: San Francisco CA 94107 T.415.947.8170 x800 :: F.866.385.8266 :: urbanmapping.com/blog From: [email protected] [mailto:[email protected]] On Behalf Of Landon Blake Sent: Wednesday, March 04, 2009 1:11 PM 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. No virus found in this incoming message. Checked by AVG - www.avg.com Version: 8.0.237 / Virus Database: 270.11.6/1981 - Release Date: 03/04/09 07:41:00
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