[okfn-za] Please Sue Me

Sun May 5 18:25:23 UTC 2013

Hi Adi,

Saw your post a few days ago - only just got round to responding. Obviously 
like the principle behind the idea - wouldn't be a part of this group 
otherwise.
A few thoughts, though I recognise some of this has been said before:
1) You might be able to get publicity without having to go through costly 
legal proceedings. Perhaps look for ways to generate a buzz without such a 
high risk factor?
2) A milder form of Hanlon's Razor<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hanlon's_razor>- there's a good chance a lot of govt people simply don't know about the 
whole CC/Public Domain/Copyright issues. Approaching the right people might 
actually get the job done quicker than being antagonistic - and of course, 
it doesn't hurt to have some citizen pressure on your side.

I'm involved in 100in1Day <http://100in1day.co.za/>, an event based in Cape 
Town (but need not be limited to the city), aimed at getting citizens to 
take action on issues that matter to them. The focal point is getting more 
than 100 interventions happening on 1 day, the 25th of May.
I mention this because if you were to sign up this idea as an intervention, 
you would have access to people helping you with legal info, you would be 
publicised as part of the event, and you'd have access to a new network of 
people who want to make things better (but aren't always as in-the-know 
when it comes to tech/info-related issues) who might support the cause. Of 
course, you are welcome to do this independently and before/after the 
100in1Day event.

If you're keen, their contact details are:
Email: 100in1daycpt at gmail.com // Twitter: @100in1daycpt<https://twitter.com/100in1daycpt>// 
Facebook <https://www.facebook.com/100in1daycpt> // 36 Buitenkant St, 2nd 
Floor. Cape Town.

Keen to see how this evolves, however it does.
J

On Tuesday, 30 April 2013 15:09:47 UTC+2, adi wrote:
>
> Some of you may have read an article that I posted recently on the 
> OKFN mailing list and on the Daily Maverick with regards to the 
> openness of government data in South Africa. 
>
> In that article, I described an exercise that I undertook to gain 
> commercial access to that data. I have had very few responses, all of 
> which expressly forbid commercial use. 
>
> As per the Copyright Act, I am not certain that most of this data 
> qualifies for copyright protection as it usually contains a database 
> of facts where no innovative process was used to produce said data. On 
> the moral front, it seems absurd that data produced using public funds 
> should be restricted in such a way. In an ideal world an open data 
> licence would be attached to all government data allowing for re-use 
> without permission or restriction. Please see an excerpt from a 
> comment that I received from the legal advisor to parliament: 
>
> "Should you wish to request permission or a licence to use information 
> on our webpage for commercial gain, I suggest you indicate the item 
> you want to use and the specific purpose for its use to allow us to 
> make an informed decision. " 
>
> I it is unacceptable to be required to request permission to re-use a 
> list of MPs listed on www.parliament.gov.za 
>
> I would like to propose a provocative response that will hopefully 
> spark a conversation (and despite the codename, not get me sued). 
> Volunteers and comments and criticisms welcome. 
>
> The idea is as follows: 
>
> 1. Build a website registered at www.pleasesueme.co.za 
> 2. Scrape a bunch of data from government website, stuff that seems to 
> not be copyrightable 
> 3. Upload it to the website and offer it up for sale for a nominal 
> fee. It needs to be sold so as to assert a right for general re-use. 
> Sold data will be re-released under an open licence. 
>
> The money (i expect very little data to be actually sold) will be used 
> to fund a war-chest (however small) for a legal defense if it comes to 
> that. My gut feeling is that we won't get any response at all but by 
> being provocative, we might get people thinking about why it might be 
> important to push open data licences within government. We might get a 
> take-down notice which would be evaluated based on merit. I can't 
> imagine (though I am not a lawyer) that any public agency has the 
> time, money or wherewithal to take this to court. 
>
> Any responses, including flames about how I'm being naive or that 
> antagonism is not the correct approach are welcome. 
>
> Adi 
>
> -- 
> Adi Eyal 
> Data Specialist 
> phone: +27 78 014 2469 
> skype: adieyalcas 
> linkedin: http://za.linkedin.com/pub/dir/Adi/Eyal 
>
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