[Oer-community] Global Open Access Map - - resource for location coordinates

Wed Nov 21 22:54:13 MST 2012

Take this example of a UN/LOCODE from Wikipedia:

ChLOCODENameNameWoDiacriticsSubDivFunctionStatusDateIATACoordinatesRemarks
US NYCNew YorkNew YorkNY12345---AI04014042N 07400W

Of these fields, "Function" is a type of location classifier, signifying
things like road or rail terminals.  Status denotes who has authorized a
location to be on the UN/LOCODE list.  Of these fields, the ones that could
be useful to an OER mapping project would be LOCODE, Name, Function, Status
and Coordinates.  Of those fields, it appears to me that only status is
plausibly copyrightable.  The remarks field and the unique three-letter
code part of the LOCODE are likely copyrightable, but less applicable for
an OER map.

A fact consisting of the name, function and coordinates of a location is
not copyrightable under US law, see Feist v.
Rural<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Feist_v._Rural>.
 The relevant sections of LOCODE, if useful, could be used.

--Seth

On Wed, Nov 21, 2012 at 11:57 PM, Wayne Mackintosh <
mackintosh.wayne at gmail.com> wrote:

> Thanks Abel,
>
> That's sorted -- I suggest we use the OpenStreetMap data. It will save
> considerable time and effort rather than trying to negotiate an open
> license for data which should be in the public domain from the UN.
>
> Wyane
>
> On Thu, Nov 22, 2012 at 5:21 PM, Caine, Abel <a.caine at unesco.org> wrote:
>
>>  Thanks Davide.
>>
>>  To the OER Community, note that the completely FOSS-based OpenStreetMap
>> has the equivalent list of lat/long coordinates as the list from the UN.
>>
>> Regards,
>> Abel
>>
>>  Sent from my iPhone
>>
>> On 22 nov. 2012, at 00:07, "Storti, Davide" <d.storti at unesco.org> wrote:
>>
>>   Dear Abel,
>>
>>  1. The list exists and ... It's OSM itself which is also openly
>> licensed. As a database, you can query it for all these coordinates and
>> even for metadata information or relations.
>> Check for example taginfo:
>> http://taginfo.openstreetmap.org/keys/addr%3Acountry
>>
>>  2. There is no copyright on geographical coordinates, although this is
>> not clear to everyone:
>> http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia_talk:Obtaining_geographic_coordinates
>>
>>  I think this should answer the concerns raised.
>> Davide
>>
>>
>>
>>
>> Il giorno 21 nov. 2012, alle ore 09:40, "Caine, Abel" <a.caine at unesco.org>
>> ha scritto:
>>
>>    Davide,****
>>
>> ** **
>>
>> Does the OSM Community maintain an openly-licensed table/wiki of the
>> lat-longs of major points in the world just like the copyrighted UN list
>> below?****
>>
>> http://www.unece.org/cefact/locode/service/location.html****
>>
>> ** **
>>
>> Could you forward this question to your FOSS/OSM Communities, askign them
>> to copy me with replies?****
>>
>> ** **
>>
>> Regards,
>> Abel ****
>>
>> ** **
>>
>> ** **
>>
>> *From:* oer-community-bounces at athabascau.ca [
>> mailto:oer-community-bounces at athabascau.ca<oer-community-bounces at athabascau.ca>]
>> *On Behalf Of *Wayne Mackintosh
>> *Sent:* Wednesday, 21 November 2012 09:27
>> *To:* oer-community
>>
>> *Subject:* Re: [Oer-community] Global Open Access Map - - resource for
>> location coordinates****
>>
>> ** **
>>
>> Hi Virginia,****
>>
>> ** **
>>
>> On Wed, Nov 21, 2012 at 9:10 PM, Virginia Cram-Martos <
>> Virginia.Cram-Martos at unece.org> wrote:****
>>
>> The website where you can find the codes (and their coordinates)
>> organised by country and alphabetically within the country is:
>> http://www.unece.org/cefact/locode/service/location.html - so no need
>> for most of you to figure out how to get your GPS to give you the
>> coordinates of where you are - you can just go to the web. ****
>>
>> That's an amazing resource and I hope that the OER community can aquire
>> permissions to use the data. ****
>>
>> ** **
>>
>> While in many jurisdictions, it is not possible to assert copyright on
>> data, the UN site to which you refer has a very clear all rights reserved
>> copyright notice.****
>>
>> ** **
>>
>> Quoting <http://www.unece.org/legal_notice/copyrightnotice.html> from
>> the site:****
>>
>> ** **
>>
>>  "Copyright (c) United Nations 2000-2008. All rights reserved. None of
>> the materials provided on this web site may be used, reproduced or
>> transmitted, in whole or in part, in any form or by any means, electronic
>> or mechanical, including photocopying, recording or the use of any
>> information storage and retrieval system, except as provided for in the
>> Terms and Conditions of Use of United Nations Web Sites, without permission
>> in writing from the publisher."****
>>
>>  ** **
>>
>> How can we legally use the resources on this site for open education
>> purposes? Would the UN consider changing the copyright license on this web
>> site? Who do we need to contact requesting permission to change the license
>> so we can use these resource for the benefit of OER?****
>>
>> ** **
>>
>> Cheers****
>>
>> Wayne****
>>
>> ** **
>>
>> ** **
>>
>> ** **
>>
>> -- ****
>>
>> Wayne Mackintosh <http://wikieducator.org/User:Mackiwg>, Ph.D.
>> Director OER Foundation <http://www.oerfoundation.org>
>> Director, International Centre for Open Education, Otago Polytechnic
>> Commonwealth of Learning Chair in OER, Otago Polytechnic****
>>
>> Founder and elected Community Council Member, WikiEducator<http://www.wikieducator.org>
>> Mobile +64 21 2436 380
>> Skype: WGMNZ1
>> Twitter <http://twitter.com/#%21/Mackiwg> | identi.ca<http://identi.ca/waynemackintosh>
>> Wikiblog <http://wikieducator.org/User:Mackiwg/Blog>****
>>
>> ** **
>>
>>
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>>
>
>
> --
> Wayne Mackintosh <http://wikieducator.org/User:Mackiwg>, Ph.D.
> Director OER Foundation <http://www.oerfoundation.org>
> Director, International Centre for Open Education, Otago Polytechnic
> Commonwealth of Learning Chair in OER, Otago Polytechnic
> Founder and elected Community Council Member, WikiEducator<http://www.wikieducator.org>
> Mobile +64 21 2436 380
> Skype: WGMNZ1
> Twitter <http://twitter.com/#%21/Mackiwg> | identi.ca<http://identi.ca/waynemackintosh>
> Wikiblog <http://wikieducator.org/User:Mackiwg/Blog>
>
>
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