There may be a misunderstanding here - the Definitive Map is a legal document and was (in almost all cases produced a long time ago - interesting thought in passing - if it is 50 years old would it be out of copyright! The initiating legislation is the National Parks and Access to the Countryside Act 1949 so some could be almost that old). Almost all Definitive Maps are years earlier than GPS. The nice men from the council with cheap yellow GPS units (they can't usually afford good ones) are surveying the paths with respect to the definitive map to build a database on path condition to assist their statutory duties of maintenance etc. and to cover their backsides in case of legal action against them e.g if someone gets hurt on a path - this wonderful litigious modern world! Very few Councils indeed (exceptions may be one or two major cities who were initially exempt) are still producing definitive maps - just amending them from time to time in respect of a particular path. Mike Harris
_____ From: Dave F. [mailto:dave...@madasafish.com] Sent: 25 September 2009 15:16 Cc: OSM Talk Subject: Re: [OSM-talk] Breach of Copyright? Tom Hughes wrote: On 25/09/09 14:30, Dave F. wrote: The map he sent is titled as a Definitive Map. It has an OS underlay, but the information laid on top is compiled from Council gathered info. eg GPS survey equipment from an independent company employed to produce the definitive maps. Do you know for absolute certainty that every single detail was gathered from first principles like that? If it was then it is a very unusual bit of local council mapping as they are not generally that scrupulously careful... Well... not every detail, no, but there was a report in the local newspaper: "Two surveyors will be walking virtually every one of the 560 miles of footpath in the area." And also in the Council produced pamphlet where two people were shown holding their very nice big yellow GPS units. Isn't every council having to do the same to produce their Definitive Maps? The reason of course is that they have a license to do what they like with OS data so it largely doesn't matter to them whether they derive things from it (well at least until they try and overlay that data on a google map and get nastygrams from the OS). Tom
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