[Geowanking] ogc control? of kml

[Allan Doyle]

On Apr 23, 2008, at 6:29 PM, Mano Marks wrote:
> Hi y'all,
>
> I just wanted to address a couple of the points raised on the thread.
> To be completely out there, in case you missed my email address, I
> work for Google supporting Geo APIs.
>
> Mike asked if the OGC owns the future of KML. It does. Google no
> longer owns any KML IP.. The OGC owns all of it. Google is a member of
> the OGC, and we hope to be one of the drivers of innovation, but we
> don't own it or have any special privileges other OGC members don't
> have.
>
> Allan, you asked for a non license-agreement copy of something. Did
> you mean of the spec or just the documentation?

I meant the spec. OGC has developed a silly click-through license that  
I have trouble parsing. It's either entirely benign, in which case why  
is it there? Or it requires me to make sure that anyone I might pass  
the spec on to must agree to the click-through, in which case the spec  
is not particularly useful to me.

>
> This link:
> http://schemas.opengis.net/kml/2.2.0/
> doesn't require signing a license
>
> Also, the KML 2.2 SWG at OGC is also open:
> http://www.opengeospatial.org/projects/groups/kml2.2swg
>
> Also, the KML docs on Google's site are pretty up to date.
> http://code.google.com/apis/kml/documentation/
>
> If it is a different doc, I can see if I can get it for you.

Post the spec somewhere w/o the click through and I'm a happy camper.

	Allan

>
>
> Mano
>
> On Fri, Apr 18, 2008 at 6:18 PM, Allan Doyle <afdoyle at mit.edu> wrote:
>> It's a little hard to tell, they have a click-through license at  
>> the OGC
>> site. Does Google have a non-DRM'ed copy anywhere?
>>
>>        Allan
>>
>>
>>
>> On Apr 18, 2008, at 2:37 PM, Mike Liebhold wrote:
>>
>>> More (perhaps old) news ( 4/13)   " OGC(R) Approves KML as Open  
>>> Standard"
>> The formal press release from OGC appended below, and this on a  
>> google blog
>>>
>>>
>> http://google-latlong.blogspot.com/2008/04/kml-new-standard-for-sharing-maps.html
>>>
>>> "Starting today, Google no longer controls KML. The Open Geospatial
>> Consortium (OGC), an international standards body, has announced the
>> completion of KML's standardization process. KML has become an OGC  
>> Standard,
>> and the OGC will take responsibility for maintaining and extending  
>> it. This
>> transfer of ownership is a strong reflection of Google's commitment  
>> to open
>> standards. Fundamentally, our interest is not to control  
>> information, but
>> rather to encourage its spread."
>>>
>>> Despite this  announcement , does the OGC community  actually now  
>>> 'own'
>> the future of kml?  I'm not sure.
>>>
>>> Perhaps someone more knowledgeable can comment  on whether not  
>>> Google
>> actually still controls KML destiny, with all of their queued up  
>> kml3.0 and
>> beyond features and extensions  they can unilaterally adopt and   
>> implement
>> in google earth, before submission or adoption by OGC committees.
>>> I'm also wondering about highlights of alignment with GML, and  
>>> what major
>> elements are left out  or postponed in this 'standard' version.   
>> Some 3d
>> elements perhaps?
>>>
>>> Raj or Carl or  Ron anyone in the OGC  KML groups care to share any
>> comments?  (Andrew?)
>>>
>>>
>> -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
>>>
>>> http://www.opengeospatial.org/pressroom/pressreleases/857
>>>
>>> OGC(R) Approves KML as Open Standard
>>>
>>> Wayland, Mass., April 14, 2008 - The members of the Open Geospatial
>> Consortium, Inc. (OGC) today announced the approval of the  
>> OpenGIS(R) KML
>> Encoding Standard (OGC KML), marking KML's transition into an open  
>> standard
>> which will be maintained by the OGC. Developers will now have a  
>> standard
>> approach for using KML to code and share visual geographic content in
>> existing or future web-based online maps and 3D geospatial browsers  
>> like
>> Google EarthTM.
>>>
>>> "We are pleased to see the adoption of KML as an OGC standard,"  
>>> said Ron
>> Lake, chairman and chief executive officer of Galdos Systems Inc. "We
>> believe that this is a major step forward for the OGC and for the  
>> entire
>> geographic information community, as it provides the first broadly  
>> accepted
>> standard for the visualization of geographic information."
>>>
>>> "Geographic data adds tremendous value to the online experience.  
>>> More and
>> more people are looking for ways to incorporate location  
>> information into
>> their online content," said Michael Weiss-Malik, KML product  
>> manager for
>> Google. "The standardization of KML makes it possible for both  
>> novice and
>> expert users alike to publish and share geographical information in  
>> an open
>> format. It's not unlike web browsers' standardized support for  
>> HTML, which
>> allows any web browser to read any web page."
>>>
>>> KML version 2.2 was brought into the OGC consensus process by a  
>>> submission
>> team led by Google and Galdos Systems Inc.
>>>
>>> KML is an XML-based programming language, originally developed to  
>>> manage
>> the display of geospatial data in Google Earth. It's still used  
>> heavily in
>> Google Earth but is also supported by a variety of vendors' tools and
>> mapping websites.
>>>
>>> The OpenGIS KML 2.2 Encoding Standard formalizes the KML 2.2 model  
>>> and
>> language while remaining backwards compatible with existing KML 2.2  
>> files
>> and tools. In comparison with the GoogleTM KML 2.2 Reference, the  
>> standard
>> defines:
>>>
>>> * the KML 2.2 geometry encoding and interpolation model
>>> * an extension model in support of application profiles
>>> * conformance requirements and test cases
>>>
>>> The adopted OpenGIS KML 2.2 Encoding Standard (OGC KML) is  
>>> available at
>>> http://www.opengeospatial.org/standards/kml/.
>>>
>>> About the OGC
>>>
>>> The OGC(R) is an international consortium of more than 345  
>>> companies,
>> government agencies, research organizations, and universities  
>> participating
>> in a consensus process to develop publicly available geospatial  
>> standards.
>> OpenGIS(R) Standards support interoperable solutions that "geo- 
>> enable" the
>> Web, wireless and location-based services, and mainstream IT. OGC  
>> Standards
>> empower technology developers to make geospatial information and  
>> services
>> accessible and useful with any application that needs to be  
>> geospatially
>> enabled. Visit the OGC website at http://www.opengeospatial.org/.
>>>
>>> Google and Google Earth are trademarks of Google Inc.
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>>
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>
>
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