[Geowanking] Re: GeoDRM

[Josh@oklieb]

Hi,

On Oct 16, 2006, at 8:20 AM, Andy Armstrong wrote:

> On 16 Oct 2006, at 13:08, Cameron Shorter wrote:
>> For those looking for more documentation, see the GeoDRM thread in  
>> the the OWS4 RFQ:
>> http://www.opengeospatial.org/projects/initiatives/ows-4/#rfq
>
> http://www.opengeospatial.org/projects/groups/geodrmwg
>
> "The lack of a Geospatial Digital Rights Management (GeoDRM)  
> capability is a major barrier to broader adoption of Web based  
> geospatial technologies."
>
> etc etc.
>
> I can't find anything that makes it sound any less bone-headed than  
> any other kind of DRM. Like most DRM it seems to promise to trade  
> convenience for legitimate users for what is - at best - a minor  
> speed bump in the path of would-be pirates.
>
> If you can point us to the bit where it takes a less moronic turn  
> that'd be helpful.

One of the (few) benefits of having used the term GeoDRM for the  
present geo-rights work is that it does flush out people who are  
mainly looking for a demon to hunt and use abusive language rather  
than actually talking and thinking about how intellectual property  
rights work for all Web users. It's a bit like saying that anyone who  
uses the term soccer / football is just a hooligan talking about head- 
butting.

Only one part of rights management for digital geospatial content and  
services has anything to do with enforcement (e.g. authorization).  
Communication, attribution, acknowledgement, provenance, quality, and  
appropriate use are the focus of many use cases which do not involve  
any of the enforcement schemes which seem to rile certain people so  
much.

Yes, geospatial data have value quite apart from the particular  
software used to work with  or present it. No, those who create or  
maintain it do not have an obligation to give it for free and with no  
conditions to someone who will use it to build a house which is then  
flooded and results in a lawsuit against the data provider.

Yes, most enforcement schemes can be defeated. The question is, are  
those defeating those systems doing so to support their legitimate  
usage rights or to steal someone else's legitimate IP rights. Do they  
know? Do they care or is it just whatever they can get their hands on?

It is actually more important in both a legal and business sense that  
such people (and those downstream from them) know when they are  
infringing on someone else's legitimate rights than that some  
protection system be 100% effective. This is distinct from particular  
privacy concerns, of course, such as Title 13.

The point of the present GeoDRM work, however some might want to  
demonize it on the basis of the term, is first and foremost to define  
a system of rights information (metadata and protocols) which lets  
anyone who uses geospatial intellectual property, communicate and be  
clear on the terms of that use. This seems to me in the end a clearer  
and more effective way of documenting unfairness in particular  
protection schemes and moving toward more fair, less proprietary  
systems, than cracking them and ranting about them, but that's just  
my preference.

Cheers,

Josh

>
> -- 
> Andy Armstrong, hexten.net
>
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