[odc-discuss] Changes to OS license

Tue Jan 11 17:17:40 UTC 2011

I think you're probably right about the challenges this creates; but 
ironically OpenStreetMap's OWN license, by using CC-BY-SA  contains an 
attribution clause too, causing the exact same problems for 
OpenStreetMap's own consumers! No? If I'm missing something about a 
difference in nature of your attribution requirement from theirs that 
makes yours less of a problem for consumers (which I very well may be), 
please do clarify.

I would love it if you would take your experience as a consumer of 
government data and the problems it creates when there's an attribution 
requirement, and use it to guide your own license to avoid such problems 
for your own consumers.  It's hard to ask an upstream producer to drop 
an attribution restriction, when you are requiring attribution yourself 
in your own license, if it's good enough for you, why not for them? 
They're in a sense following your lead with the attribution license.

I think attribution licenses on data specifically are highly problematic 
for just this sort of reason, and should be avoided, and have been 
frustrated for a while about OpenStreetMap's attribution requirement.  
Makes it really hard to mix data from such a licensor in with data from 
other sources in an integrated database, which is generally what one 
wants to do with data.

Jonathan

On 1/11/2011 12:08 PM, Mike Collinson wrote:
> At 12:11 AM 7/01/2011, Jonathan Gray wrote:
>> FYI
>>
>> http://blog.ordnancesurvey.co.uk/2011/01/changes-to-the-os-opendata-licence/
> Note that OS have not changed to the (UK) Open Government License but incorporated it:
>
> http://www.ordnancesurvey.co.uk/oswebsite/opendata/docs/os-opendata-licence.pdf
>
> At OpenStreetMap, we are concerned about the extra requirement for down-stream attribution and whether it conflicts with ODbL 1.0's Produced Work provisions, i.e. could the creator of a Produced Work be deemed to be an OS sublicensee.
>
> "You must always use the following attribution statement to acknowledge the source of the Information : 'Contains Ordnance Survey data  Crown Copyright and database right 2011'"
>
> No problem for OpenStreetMap, but
>
> "The same attribution statements must be contained in any sublicenses of the information that you grant, together with a requirement that any further sub-licences do the same"
>
> Mike
>
> Michael Collinson
> OpenStreetMap Foundation
>
>
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