On Wed, 17 Nov 2004, Simmonds, Ashley (DTUP) wrote: > i would have thought that purchasing the dataset allows you to do what you > wish with it, publishing wise. obviously i can't distribute the original > data, but for displaying pretty maps and stuff in management reports nobody > ever questioned the legality as that's what we got the data for. > > however now that i've made a system where the maps can be viewed online, > some people are getting nervous...
I think if your maps are static (i.e. pre-built) and distributed as images, that there will be no problem. However, if they are built on the fly by user request (i.e. the source data is accessed by a process invoked by a user request to build a custom map) then you are simply a dead man walking, in the legal sense. You just have to read the license that came with the data. Most big companies with lawyers to water and feed are very picky about how their data are used and Internet access is sort of a new frontier. OTOH, the Worldwide CVGMAP data set we sell (http://www.gisnet.com/catalog/cvgmap/index.html) has a more generous license. With CVGMAP you *can* make maps on the fly with that data. There's just an additional charge based on the volume you want to serve. It really comes down to the truth that you (or your company's legal expert) need to RTFC (Read The Funny Contract.) It might have big words like "estopple" and "tumescence of writ" in it, but if you don't read it, or understand it, you could turn your company into a lawsuit revenue stream for a data vendor. IMHO, and IANAL, of course... - Bill Thoen --------------------------------------------------------------------- List hosting provided by Directions Magazine | www.directionsmag.com | To unsubscribe, e-mail: [EMAIL PROTECTED] For additional commands, e-mail: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Message number: 14082
