Question for using OSM to make and sell my own maps

General talk
1

Hi, I’m new here. Basically, I’d like to screencap OSM, and then add in details to the screencap to create my own detailed maps of certain areas that I would then consider selling (I think these are considered produced works, but I’m not sure). So long as I properly attributed OSM (by adding on the screencap “© OpenStreetMap contributors” and “www.openstreetmap.org/copyright”), I am allowed to edit and sell said screencaps, correct? Before I go ahead with doing this I (obviously) want to make sure I’m not violating any copyright or intellectual property laws). From what I’m reading, this is legal, but I’m not a lawyer nor do I have any legal experience, so as stated above, I want to ensure that if I chose to do this, I would not be violating any laws and potentially find myself in legal trouble. Thanks in advance.

2

Screen grabbing is a bad way of doing this. Directly fetching the map tiles is slightly better. However, if you are going to produce detailed maps, the only technically sensible way of doing this, in my view, is run your own rendering tool chain and integrate your data into that. This allows you to print at any resolution and also means that you avoid glitches where one tile is rendered before a change and another after it…

Whilst I don’t think the OSM community would particularly appreciate detailed proprietary mapping, and would prefer that the data is contributed back into the project, my interpretation is that, as long as you destroy the vector nature of the OSM derived part of the maps, it is technically acceptable, given the proper attribution. You should still get professional legal advice.

I would point out that frequent downloading of map tiles for purposes other than maintaining the map are against the terms of service of the map servers, so, if you are going to mechanise this, you should definitely run your own rendering tool chain.

3

You can sell the map, and also all of your customers have the same rights, so they can resell your map.

Extract from www.openstreetmap.org/copyright

4

May be uMap can do the job: https://umap.openstreetmap.fr/en/

Regards
walter

5

It isn’t as liberal as I remember on raster/printed images. I think I was confused by the part of large work. If a business includes a rendered map based, on OSM tiles, or screen scrapes, and annotates it as part of an advert, anyone can extract the rendered map and use it, even though they can’t copy the whole advertisement.

I’m having trouble with the combination of Produced Work and Collective Database, but to be on the safe side, I think the only way you might be able to achieve what you want is:

  1. create your own data without reference to the contents of OSM, and render it (e.g. use raw GPS positions, not ones relative to OSM features);
  2. render your own OSM tiles, from the unmodified OSM data;
  3. superimpose the image from your data on the fresh tile images that you have created:

If you go beyond that, I believe you will create a Derivative Database, even if only temporarily, and will trigger this rule:

and be required to publish that Derivative Database.