Does the Ordnance Survey own all UK maps? - No!

Seventy7 · 2009-06-01T14:08:52.000Z

Having mapped my town I wanted to put a small piece in my local newspaper to draw attention to OSM, recruit some new mappers and perhaps get hold of some aerial photos. It was basically a short piece of text and a screenshot of the map of the town.

The publisher has refused to print it as he says that the Ordnance Survey claim that anything that looks like a map belongs to them. If it were straight lines and blobs then that would be ok, but anything to scale that resembles something that could have come from one of their maps belongs to them.

Is this true? Has anyone else experienced this and does OSM have a disclaimer from the Ordnance Survey? He won’t publish without one!

Thanks,
Steve

Firefishy · 2009-06-01T15:01:53.000Z

Not true at all.

Try again and remind them we are a completely “clean room” from scratch project. Nothing is derived from Ordnance Survey copyrighted sources. If they still do not agree, ask them if they have been specifically advised about OpenStreetMap.

Lots of guys happy to help on http://irc.openstreetmap.org/

Harry_Wood · 2009-06-01T15:29:19.000Z

Yeah it’s kind of the whole point of the OpenStreetMap project (in the UK at least) Up until now it has been true that anything resembling a decent detailed map must have been derived from Ordnance Survey. This was always the frustration with maps in the UK… until OpenStreetMap came along. We create our maps from scratch, or using copyright-free sources so that we can release the maps with an open content license.

When you publish OpenStreetMap maps Ordnance Survey is not involved. Provided the publisher mentions OpenStreetMap (which they are required to do under the terms of our license) then ordnance survey have nothing to complain about.

This is something publishers should be aware of. Now you can publish a decent* maps. Hurray!

(* in areas where we have achieved a decent level of completion)

Seventy7 · 2009-06-01T15:58:06.000Z

I tried telling him all this. His point was that anything that was “map-like” automatically fell under them. It’s proof of his misconception that I’m after.

EdLoach · 2009-06-01T16:27:20.000Z

Would the fact that the magazine Waterways World is about to use an OSM map in a forthcoming issue help (at least when it gets to print)?

Seventy7 · 2009-06-05T12:24:35.000Z

To wrap this one up, I emailed Ordnance Survey to confirm one way or the other.

They confirmed that they do not have any intellectual property rights over maps that have been produced without any reference to their mapping.

Here’s the email. If anyone has similar problems and needs further proof then let me know and I’ll send you the non-redacted version.

Steve

RE: OpenStreetMap and licensing‏
From: Customer Services (CustomerServices@ordnancesurvey.co.uk)
Sent: 04 June 2009 11:50:17
To: XXX

Dear Mr XXX

Thank you for your e-mail dated 1 June 2009.

Ordnance Survey mapping is protected by virtue of the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988. Mapping, paper, digital and aerial imagery produced by Ordnance Survey is protected by Crown Copyright.

However we do not hold the copyright on products or mapping that is originated by other companies or individuals that are produced from their own surveys and without reference to Ordnance Survey mapping of any form.

If your own map has been produced from your satnav traces (and local knowledge) and complied without any reference to our mapping whatsoever then we do not have any intellectual property rights.

I trust this information is of use to you.

Kind regards

Steve Hearn

Service Advisor,
Customer Service Centre, Ordnance Survey
C454, Romsey Road, SOUTHAMPTON, United Kingdom, SO16 4GU
Phone: +44 (0) 23 8030 5030 | Fax: +44 (0) 23 8079 2615
www.ordnancesurvey.co.uk | customerservicesl@ordnancesurvey.co.uk

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