Spatial Law and Policy Update (August 23, 2010)

Privacy
Google Street View in Germany - a non-issue
Spain joins countries Probing Street View
Facebook Location and PrivacyFacebook Enters Location
Surveillance Cameras and the Right to Privacy
Maine AG struggles with GPS and consumer rights

Data Quality/Liability
Malware Implicated in fatal Spanish air crash
No Safe Harbors in Argentina
Under Construction
Technology Leads More Park Visitors Into Trouble

Miscellaneous
Good-bye prisons, hello GPS
Twitter After An Emergency - is it reliable?

National Security
India claims Google places parts of Kashmir in Pakistan

Intellectual Property Rights
Important Copyright Case in Australia

Round-up of Spatial Law issues

Link to an article from Salt Lake Tribune about the need to control government's efforts to provide services that can be provided by government entitities. This is big issue for companies that produce maps and other spatial products, particularly at the state level, as I realized by attending the recent MAPPS Winter Conference. http://www.sltrib.com/opinion/ci_8217514

Discussion on the Ars Technica blog about another case involving attempt by county official to distribute local data. History of this case is interesting. Seneca Technologies won a suit to obtain electronic copies of tax maps under the state Freedom of Information Act at a price much lower than counties were charging for paper copies of the same type of information. Seneca is now posting this information on its website. Now a county tax accessor is suing for violation of county copyright on tax maps. http://arstechnica.com/news.ars/post/20080207-w-virginia-assessor-fights-effort-to-put-tax-maps-online.html

I missed this case when the opinion was first published last year, but I think it still noteworthy, particularly since appeals are still pending. In Darden v. Peters, the plaintiff is challenging the decision of the US Copyright Office to deny copyright protection to on-line maps and compilations. Unfortunately, there is much discussion in the opinion on administrative law issues. However, the opinion also discusses how the Copyright Office claims to have applied copyright law to the application. Hopefully, if an appeal is granted, there will be more discussion of the latter, as this is an important issue. http://pacer.ca4.uscourts.gov/opinion.pdf/061177.P.pdf

I saw the press release below from DMTI Spatial, Inc. and was intrigured by the title and responsibilities of the position --- as I believe it shows the complexity of spatial data. According to the release, as Vice President, Intellectual Property and Privacy, Ms. John "is responsible for the development, negotiation and management of all licensing agreements on behalf of the company. She is also in charge of the development of, and adherence to, information management policies that ensure the company’s compliance with privacy legislation."

The job description suggests that licensing, privacy (and I would argue liability issues) with respect to spatial data are inextricably linnked. Having one person responsible for overseeing all of these issues is good business from a legal standpoint.

http://www.directionsmag.com/press.releases/?duty=Show&id=21046&trv=1

Virtual Map/Singapore Land Authority Appeal

I have attached a link below to an article concerning a case in Singapore in which Virtual Map is accused by Singapore Land Authority (SLA) of violating SLA's copyright in creating maps for streetdirectory.com. The court ruled in favor of SLA in August, and Virtual Map has appealed. The central issue in the case is to what extent Virtual Map used SLA's maps in creating its own maps. Virtual Map says that it only used SLA maps in order to drive around to collect GPS data for its own maps. However, SLA argued that the SLA maps were used as a backbone for Virtual Map's products, and that Virtual Map would not have been able to create its maps without the SLA maps. It also cites phantom features on the SLA maps that it believes appear on streedirectory.com's maps. I have also attached a link to the August decision. As the decision shows, determining copyright violations in the case of a map can be very difficult and requires detailed analysis. Ironically, Virtual Map has made a name for itself in attempting to enforce its copyright in spatial data.

http://www.gisdevelopment.net/news/viewn.asp?id=GIS:N_tmhkexcbqd

http://app.subcourts.gov.sg/Data/Files/File/GroundsOfDecision/GD_DCA192007_SLAandVirtualMap.pdf

http://www.lawdit.co.uk/reading_room/room/view_article.asp?name=../articles/100%20companies%20sent%20bills.htm

Creative Commons Licensing For Public Sector Information: Opportunities and Pitfalls

Many spatial products and services include public sector spatial data. Therefore, even though I have not yet read it, I wanted to pass on this report prepared by the Institute for Information Law at the University of Amsterdam, because I think the licensing of public sector data is an important one in spatial law. Let me know your thoughts. http://www.epsiplus.net/news/ccl_for_psi

Licensing of Spatial Data - Unique Legal Issues

For those interested in the unique legal issues surrounding the licensing of spatial data, I recommend you check out the following discussion associated with the OpenStreetMap Project: http://wiki.openstreetmap.org/index.php/Legal_FAQ.

Most of the contributors are spatial data users, rather than lawyers, so it is very practical. The questions and discussion focus primarily on issues associated with the licensing of open spatial data. However, many of the issues, such as copyright, what constitutes a derivative product, and the combining of spatial data from various providers. are prevalent throughout the industry.