I haven't wanted to make too much noise before I get the results back, though I have discussed this with the LWG. In the UK I have asked Francis Davey to do the work - he has often contributed to this list. He recommended a US attorney, Cathy Gellis. She in turn asked to bring in Jon Rubens, and they are working together. I am glad I was able to follow a chain of recommendations in this way rather than having to pick a law firm myself.
Briefly the two questions I've asked about are the extent to which OSM map data is covered by copyright (and therefore, to which the share-alike provisions of CC-BY-SA are enforceable); and whether the additional contract-law provisions of the ODbL help enforceability. Francis Davey is also going to report on European database right law. I have made it quite clear that I am not involved in any legal action, nor likely to be, and so I'm not concerned about the usual issues of confidentiality and privilege. Nonetheless the US law firms are a little jumpy about producing something which will be posted publicly. I will probably need to summarize or report their findings in my own words, although I hope to share the full report with individuals who'd like to see it. Clearly, I have my own views on OSM licensing, but I have tried to put the legal questions in neutral terms. Sometimes I wasn't sure how specific to make them: am I asking about copyrightability of geodata in general, or OSM in particular? The US attorneys raised several interesting questions, such as what happens when contributors are from different countries, but I have tried to narrow the scope by asking them to assume all parties are in the USA. Similarly, questions about what exactly is a 'produced work' under the ODbL, or what exactly the DbCL covers, are not something I have asked about. I am paying for this work myself. I will of course report the outcome whether or not it supports my personal viewpoint. I expect a few weeks more of waiting. -- Ed Avis <e...@waniasset.com> _______________________________________________ legal-talk mailing list legal-talk@openstreetmap.org http://lists.openstreetmap.org/listinfo/legal-talk