Let's see, the last time I posted a blog here, I was giving the Royal Post a deserved kicking for their overly restrictive control of the postcode information relied upon by third party services such as Planning Alerts UK.
This time round I bring good news from Merry Old England.
Apparently the British Government will be replacing their restrictive "Click-Use" license with a more liberal CC3 type license. While I'm hunting for the previous license to do a real comparison here are the relevant bits and pieces from the new one:
You are free:
- to copy, distribute and transmit the information
- to adapt the information
- to exploit commercially the applications you develop if you choose that route
You must:
- acknowledge the copyright and the source of the information, but not in a way that suggests we endorse you or your use of the information
- ensure that you do not distort, mutilate, modify or take other derogatory action in relation to the information
With the understanding that:
- your fair dealing or fair use rights, or other applicable
copyright exceptions and limitations- the author’s moral rights
- rights other people may have either in the information itself or how the information is used, such as publicity or privacy rights
- any of the above conditions can be waived if you get permission from the copyright holder
- where the information or any of its elements is in the public domain under applicable law, that status is in no way affected by this licence
- in no way are any of the following rights affected by this licence:
So where does that leave us?
Australia is still a country deep in the grips of Commonwealth Copyright (essentially the same as Crown Copyright in the UK). How long do you think it will take for Australian government bodies to move to follow the UK?
