If all else fails, have we considered the option of reverse- engineering our own text-based definitions from the OS-derived data, following a "clean room" approach (i.e. one person writes the text by reference to the OS map, and passes it on to someone else who plots it on OSM)?
Yes, following the most paranoid interpretation of copyright law, it is still a derived work. But if the councils themselves (and/or the Boundary Commission) are telling us that the OS-derived data is the de- facto definition of the boundary, then - in the theoretical case that OS contests our use of the data - OS would be acting well outside of their capacity as a collector of data, and starting to claim copyright on facts instead. I know this probably sounds like the classic "Sure we're allowed to use this data, it's not like anyone's going to complain" argument, but intuitively I think this is different, and I reckon someone sufficiently qualified could make a sound legal argument for it that will, in all probability, never be contested. http://lists.openstreetmap.org/pipermail/talk-gb/2009-March/003607.html puts it best - "pushing the boundaries and seeing when they squeal" - and this would be very mild push indeed. - Matt On 15 Jul 2009, at 13:39, Mike Collinson wrote: > I don't know whether this has been explored before, but a tit-bit > from Bob Barr who gave a SOTM key note last year and enjoyed himself > so he came again. > > Bob is councillor in ?Warrington and once asked all the councils in > the greater Manchester area for boundary data. All supplied him OS- > derived data except Stockport which gave him a copy of original > definition which is text based ("The boundary goes down the centre > of WhatNot Street and then turns left along Kirk Lane ...") and > therefore free of OS copyright issues. Each area in the country > should have one of these document BEFORE the information is > transcribed into coordinates. He suggests asking the Boundary > Commission under the Freedom of Information Act for the whole set. > > As far as I can tell > http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Boundary_Commissions_%28United_Kingdom%29 > , there is one Commission for England > http://www.statistics.gov.uk/pbc/default.asp > , one for Scotland etc. > > Anyone tried this? Anyone game? > > > Mike _______________________________________________ Talk-GB mailing list [email protected] http://lists.openstreetmap.org/listinfo/talk-gb
