OpenStreetMap and the Public Domain

Background

I’ve been giving a lot of thought to how OpenStreetMap data is being used in government and how the government can contribute data back into OpenStreetMap.

The USGS and the National Park Service are both interested in using crowdsourcing as a way to improve their datasets and contribute back to the public. I have worked with both of these projects, and I am interested in ways to share the data with the larger public while maintaining accuracy and the public domain license.

The United States Federal Government and Public Domain

Works produced by the United States federal government are not able to be subject to copyright protection. These works can be used in licensed datasets, and can be resold, but they must be originally released in the public domain.

OpenStreetMap and its ODbL License

All contributions to OpenStreetMap are licensed to the contributor and the contributor agrees to share them with the rest of the OpenStreetMap community using an ODbL License. The purpose of the ODbL License is to encourage people using the data to release their data under the same license. This license is very open, and is a good fit for a project like OpenStreetMap.

Licensing Issues between OpenStreetMap and the US Federal Government

The problem comes up when an organization like the United States federal government wants to use this excellent source of information. If the government uses data from OpenStreetMap contributors without the individual permission of each contributor, the government can no longer release its data in the public domain.

Some relevant parts from the license agreement:

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