I think I wasn't very clear on one issue: we're talking about a bill, not a policy statement or action. This could become law enacted by the parliament.
- Svavar Kjarrval On 12/01/13 01:21, Svavar Kjarrval wrote: > Hi. > > I got a tip that the Ministry of Education in Iceland is drafting a > bill regarding placenames. In the draft's comment section they > specifically mentioned OpenStreetMap as an example of a distributor of > geodata (along with Samsýn and Google Maps). They plan to propose the > bill soon. The public review period expired at the day's end of > January 10th but I might be able to squeeze in some comments in if I > send them before Monday next. > > One of the reasons the bill will be proposed is because they are > afraid that cultural heritage is lost since popular geodata > distributors don't display (rare) placenames due to lack of data. This > is also because many users build their local knowledge upon data > brought to them via geodata distributors. They clearly want the > placenames to be available everywhere so people will be better > equipped to know the name of every hill and valley, if a name exists. > I think this should give an idea of the data density: > http://atlas.lmi.is/ornefnasja/ (more placenames appear as you zoom in > closer) > > In the current draft, they suggest that place names and their location > should be open data. Here's a rough translation of the corresponding > article: > > Article 9 > /Placename database//./ > National Land Survey of Iceland, in cooperation with The Árni > Magnússon Institute for Icelandic Studies, shall file placenames > into a centralised database and maintain it. > The contents of the database shall be accessible as open data and > free of charge. > Into the placename database shall, among other things, file: > a. Placenames in a proper notation, > b. Alignment of the placename, > c. The namebearer type. > The Minister shall with regulation provide further definitions for > the contents, filing and arrangements of the database according to > this Article. > > Open data is not defined in Icelandic law so the reference is not > clear and the meaning could be misinterpreted. I think it'll the first > time Icelandic law would have that reference. I was wondering, should > I comment on the draft and suggest that the database should be in the > public domain? Database rights are defined in Icelandic copyright law > and the public domain exception doesn't cover databases so I think > such a change would avoid any unneccessary problems. > > What do you think? > > With regards, > Svavar Kjarrval
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