[geo-discuss] Re: [Freegis-list] Campaign for rejecting Inspire directive?

Mon Aug 22 07:50:32 UTC 2005

On Mon, Aug 22, 2005 at 08:38:32AM +0200, Jan-Oliver Wagner wrote:
> > http://okfn.org/geo/minifesto.php is the attempt i have made to do
> > this. There is a draft non-commercial use Creative Commons based license linked
> 
> note that a license for non-commercial use in conjunction with example
> of the US-Model is a bad idea. The US-Model is successful because it is
> not just 'free for non-commercial use' - they made the data public domain
> which naturally inludes the commercial use.

Noted. An argument i have seen often from the NMA lobby is, 'the US
model has not worked because commercial entities (NavTEQ, mapquest et al)
can augment and re-use state geodata to great profit without no obligation
to put enhancements into the public domain, thus the timeliness and accuracy
of state-collected geodata, especially in local government, suffers'.

A ShareAlike clause helps bypass the criticisms of the US model; data
is open to commercial re-use as long as enhancements are contributed
back to the 'public domain'. 

(Often quoted against the US model is Laila Aslesen, IP lawyer for Norway's NMA.
I heard anecdotally that Norway's emergency services can no longer
access the spatial data they used to for search-and-rescue purposes,
because the commercial entity responsible for collection, decided that
sales cost/benefit was no longer economically viable in remote areas.)

> Next, I believe that we have the chance only for a single license within
> decades to get lobbied until implementation.
> Though a free-for-non-commercial-use license might be easier and faster
> to get a consensus on, it would block the implementation of a license
> concept similar to the US and thus block all the economic potentials.

Currently, small businesses or local government agencies feel pressured 
to retain IP rights in geodata because 'everyone else is doing so, 
we'll lose out if we don't, and be squashed by the major players'. 

Again, a ShareAlike license for the distribution of state-collected
geodata would help defuse this situation; smaller organisations would
not lose by putting data into the public domain; larger organisations
would not unduly gain at public expense. 

-jo