Am I allowed to name a stream based on information from a blog?

Help and support
, ,
1

A local travel blog mentions the name of a small stream. This name is probably locally used, given there I’ve seen two anonymous OSM notes saying the same.

I did walk almost the entire distance close to this stream and haven’t found the name mentioned on any information board or sign.

Should I put this name in name tag of this stream? This questions is three-fold:

  1. Based on copyright law I think I’m in the clear, as simple facts are not copyrightable
  2. Based on sui generis database rights, I’m not sure. FAQs (1, 2) don’t clearly mention any of that
  3. Based on verifiability guidelines, I’m not sure. The only thing I found about this is in Names, citation 1 links to this list post where it’s stated:

[…] the names of hamlets and streets will not be written down, but can be verified by asking the local people.

2

Am I allowed to name a stream based on information from a blog?

Technically, yes. Is it good practice? Probably not.

I think if that name was solely based on the blog, then there may be some legal gray area. As you say, there are also OSM notes, so I don’t think this is an issue. The bigger issue is that it hasn’t been verified.
Maybe the blogger got the name from the notes, or the notes from the blog, we can’t tell.

What we should avoid though is xkcd: Citogenesis. If you are next time in the area, maybe you can ask someone there what the stream is called?

6 Likes