[Freegis-list] free gis data

[Reed Hedges]

I agree that a concise explanation of alternative copyright licenses and
why they are beneficial would be useful for educating those who are
unaware.  Explaining to public officials how Free licenses are on the
one hand beneficial to the public good, and on the other hand, also
protect the rights of the copyright holder against commercial
exploitation (as one might fear who confuses copyleft with public domain
or "no" copyright).   This could also be useful in counteracting or
hopefully pre-empting any misconceptions they may have or acquire in the
future otherwise.


Paolo Cavallini wrote:
> I found a difficult spot in:
> collect fees for commercial reuse of public sector data
> in practical terms, it is often unclear what does it mean:
> - if I organize a course on freegis, may I use those data? Usually the reply 
> is yes, but for me this is a commercial operation=

... snip ...

> - if I analyse data for the public administration, should I pay? This is 
> clearly commercial, but the reply is usually that I can have it free of 
> charge.

I don't know about your second situation but in these two, you are being
paid for your professional service, you are not selling the data.  This
is my opinion at least, though the phrase "commercial use" is vague.

Reed