Nick Whitelegg wrote: > One council (West Sussex) referred to its data as "public domain" > when I last looked. I'd guess that's the same for all councils.
Bear in mind that "public domain" meaning "free of copyright" is a US term. The traditional UK meaning is quite different. In the UK, if you say "the map is now in the public domain", that means that the map is now available to the public - i.e. it's not solely an internal publication. It does not have any implications about copyright. Indeed, the map may well still be copyrighted. Here's how the UK Government defines it: http://www.berr.gov.uk/whatwedo/europeandtrade/strategic-export-control/licensing-policy/ecofaqs/page46253.html#q1 "In the public domain means the information is made available without any restrictions, _other_ _than_ _copyright_, being placed on further dissemination. For instance, information you place on your website that anyone can download or that you publish in a sales brochure would be 'in the public domain'." (my emphasis) Of course, the usage is (as with so many things) changing, particularly in the IT field as a result of US influence. But don't for a moment think that a council official telling you something is "in the public domain" means you can upload it to OSM. cheers Richard -- View this message in context: http://www.nabble.com/Breach-of-Copyright--tp25611101p25644031.html Sent from the OpenStreetMap - General mailing list archive at Nabble.com. _______________________________________________ talk mailing list [email protected] http://lists.openstreetmap.org/listinfo/talk
