Comments on: If councils move to Google Maps does that help or hinder Ordnance Survey?

By: Carl Thomas

Carl Thomas — Thu, 14 May 2009 15:06:35 +0000

One very good reason for not using third party sites is if you invest in these and say Google messes up their own data you site can become misleading and you will have no control over it. See http://www.google.com/support/forum/p/maps/thread?tid=6c515a66e1584e5e&hl=en&fid=6c515a66e1584e5e000469b6138b2996 for current situation.

Far better to have full control over your own cartography.

What is they plaster GM with hotel adverts? you have no say.

Carl

By: Ed Parsons

Ed Parsons — Tue, 23 Sep 2008 13:29:21 +0000

Laura,

To clarify the Google TOS does not claim any ownership or IP rights over the data you add to a google maps api site. By using the maps api you are providing Google with a license to use your information, the information remains your intellectual property.

I would be grateful if anyone who has had communications from the OS on this matter, would forward the email/letter on to me at eparsons@google.com

Thanks

By: Laura

Laura — Mon, 22 Sep 2008 09:14:04 +0000

John Laws is correct.

“UNDER THE TERMS OF THE MSA YOU [me being a local authority] MAY NOT PUT ANY DERIVED DATA ON SITES USING THE GOOGLE MAPS API BECAUSE IT GIVES THEM IPR OVER THE DATA WHICH IS NOT ACCEPTABLE TO THE ORDNANCE SURVEY”(the MSA Helpdesk)

By: Gavin Jamie

Gavin Jamie — Fri, 22 Jun 2007 10:13:10 +0000

Central government is doing it too.

In just the health arena http://www.qof.ic.nhs.uk uses Google maps and http://www.nhs.uk uses Microsoft.

By: Steven Feldman

Steven Feldman — Thu, 07 Jun 2007 22:20:25 +0000

I can’t see why this is pitched as being about OS data pricing? Brent have chosen to use a simple free API rather than develop a solution using the OS data they have already licensed and a paid for or free Open Source map server. This is a technology choice.

Now I’ve got some views on that too but look at them and comment at http://giscussions.blogspot.com/2007/06/will-last-gi-professional-please-switch.html

By: James Rutter

James Rutter — Tue, 05 Jun 2007 15:24:49 +0000

Google has just added public transport information to it’s mapping, so in forward thinking countries you can click on a bus or train symbol and retrieve all the timetable information and destination information.

Here in the UK, all this data is held in the National Public Transport Data Repository by Thales on behalf of the Department of Transport….and guess what it’s Crown Copyright. No chance of anything useful happening like this being supplied to Google for all to use then!

By: Charles Arthur

Charles Arthur — Mon, 04 Jun 2007 12:10:27 +0000

Sorry, Ian, but you’ll have to specify what you think is defensive – the Free Our Data campaign, OS, local authorities?

By: Ian Hadlington

Ian Hadlington — Mon, 04 Jun 2007 08:58:58 +0000

Hmmmm … is that sounding a little defensive to my niave ears??

By: Jon Laws

Jon Laws — Thu, 31 May 2007 15:13:22 +0000

All local authorities are bound by the terms and conditions of the MSA until 31st March 2009. That is where we are! If the original geospatial data is OS derived, OS terms and conditions apply therefore what will be the benefit of Google Map if you cannot legimitmately add any local datasets? You would need to derive your all your feature grid co-ordinates from a non copyrighted source before you used this information directly and simply with google maps. The OS acknowledgement and specific licence number is mandatory within the map window of the google maps to copyright OS based derived data location. The API would allow you to do this? There is no control of advertising which may appear therefore breach of MSA highly possible.

By: John Kaye

John Kaye — Thu, 31 May 2007 11:17:53 +0000

We always need to remember that the OS, urged on by the Treasury, has spent huge amounts of time and money recruiting senior staff whose main expertise is in commercialising its data. These people have no interest in seeing the OS move back to a public service model, as their public comments demonstrate: no doubt in private they are even more defensive.

By: Chris Hunt

Chris Hunt — Thu, 31 May 2007 08:46:27 +0000

We’re using Google Maps for this local government funded site in Leicestershire & Rutland – http://www.infolinx.org/ (Search for a local organisation and you should see a Google Map on their details page).

There’s still PO/OS data being used behind the scenes (don’t get me started on the NLPG…), but Google Maps is a much more attractive way to present information, even though there are some minor place naming errors in their Leicestershire coverage.