Copyright and Intellectual Property

Article

Summary

This article focuses on data policy and legal aspects of geo-spatial information exchange. With technological developments and endless possibilities, the development of a useful legal framework for both private and public activity is vital. Some key points:

• Possible government roles: producer, consumer, industrial growth, law and order administrator
• Easiest policy to implement is cost of reproduction (US model - see data policy paper review)
• Geographic information is not cheap to produce and maintain
• Issues - cheap mapping, budgets
• (Non) Demand of regions (eg. sparsely inhabitated areas); question of preservation vs. marketing
• Do taxpayers have the right to profit from publically funded products?
• Pricing: unclear; what is public? Product pricing vs. providing service
• Norway White Paper; public information should be free, but can also be sold - Data model
• Products must be protected against misuse
• Generalization doesn't mean inferior data
• Video cassettes/media; copying control is difficult to implement
• Data: structure vs. content (overlap?)
• Protection of the work, not development
• Updating: where does this fit in defining new products
• This issue is mostly a buraeucratic and academic discussion
• Legislation is behind technology; technology raises problems
• a GIS can be dangerous ie merging spatial data can identify details and information otherwise transparent independently
• If we focus on cheap data, the high quality geo-spatial information will not be understood (focus on information, not distribution)
• Government agencies are starting to look at what society needs from them, not just what they would like to make
• Internet as marketing mechanism in lieu of distribution channel. Legal threat must exist behind Internet security

Comments

• Cost of reproduction model is indeed the easiest to implement
• Geographic information is not cheap, however its power and potential should be seen as a catalyst for growth, not as threat. The idea of GIS is still quite new to the mainstream, this should be considered a common good
• Society makes its own definitions of what should be free to the public
• Geographic data collection, etc. should be independent of regional demand (ie, remote areas should be mapped in the same manner as CBDs or other central regions popular for analysis; means of preservation
• Media/copying: this has existed for years, difficult to regulate
• Generalization is merely data repackaging of data for a broader theme (ie, don't need meter level accuracy and features for a travel magazine image)
• Indeed technology sometimes drives legislation (ie Napster); technology moves faster than legislation due to lack of bureaucratic administration, etc. (ie beancounting)
• Budget issues drive the idea of copyrighting data. This is not preservation driven, rather the economic climate
• Incomplete data collection and storage will result in substandard geospatial information. High quality GIS data must exist for applications which require them
• Internet world is virtually ruleless. One is at their own risk in this environment
• Proper systems should be in place for security/copyright related Internet services, perhaps in adherence with W3C to keep up to standards

Discussion

• How long should a product be copyrighted w.r.t. newer data/products?