Re: FN-FORUM: Ordnance Survey map data

date posted 16th May 2007 15:59

> what you are saying is that I cannot give you a grid reference for my
> house in order that you can find me.

No, that would be OK as it's for "personal use". You would be required to
state that the grid reference was derived from OS data, to be perfectly
correct.

> I doubt very much if the OS could enforce copyright infringement if I
> publish a list of OS references on my website.

Well, the man at the OS Support desk says this about publishing lists of
coordinates as routes on a web site:

"Although you will not be using an actual Ordnance Survey map, just a
traced overlay, you will still need to apply for a Paper Map Copying
Licence."

> have you any case law to support this?

I doubt the OS would bother enforcing for small copyright breaches, and
internet mapping is still young... any volunteers to test this?

In practice it would be extremely difficult to prove copyright breach for
a manually traced route, unless you copy one of their deliberate mistakes
(like the AA did on their town plans - and ended up paying £££ -
http://www.ordnancesurvey.co.uk/oswebsite/media/news/2001/march/centrica.html).

> the grid reference is a fact, you can't ethically copyright facts or
> data, only the execution or expression of that data, otherwise facts
> become secrets and what's the point of a secret grid reference system.

The grid reference itself is fine, the problem is how you found it. If
you read an OS map, then you need a license to publish that grid reference
on a web site.

You can covert a Lat&Lng into a grid reference without using an OS map,
but you do have to use an OS equation (or, at least, OS-defined projection
parameters). I haven't dared ask the poor long-suffering support person
about that...

Ho hum...

Anthony
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