PSI re-use grey market!
The UK Office of Public Sector Information (OPSI) has published the minutes of the Licensing Forum meeting that was held at the UK MET Office, Exeter on the 28 January 2009. The meeting considered a number of presentations that included:
- Progress in the INSPIRE Directive and the Met Office’s Experiences
- Public Sector Intangible Assets
- Assessing Datasets for Re-Use- Environment Agency
- Ordnance Survey ‘Benefits of Licensed Data (BoLD)’ Campaign
As appetisers to read more!
In the meeting opening address and introduction the minutes state the following:
“The Owner’s Council (operated by the Met Office) has been working on defining the organisation’s public task. Despite this activity, it has also been felt by the Met Office that recent statements by APPSI and BERR regarding the revision of the European Directive on Re-Use are moving towards restrictions being placed on Trading Funds, which could prove detrimental.”
“The Cambridge Review’s impact should be minimal, as it should only affect 1% of the Met Office’s income.”
In the INSPIRE presentation section of the minutes the following is stated:
“While this Licensing policy is still in draft form, many of the requirements seem to be in conflict with PSI constraints, and it is important to have the draft Implementing Rule properly reviewed.”
In the Public Sector Intangible Assets section of the minutes the following is stated:
“The Trading Fund Review is due to report shortly as is the Power of Information Review. The Information Fair Trader Scheme and the Treasury’s Operational Efficiency Programme.”
“The Public Sector Intangibles project aims to report to David Lammy (Minister for Intellectual Property and Higher Education) at the end of February 2009, and to feed any recommendations into the budget process. These will focus on how we influence current policy initiatives and the development of practical steps to managing intangibles.”
In the Assessing Datasets for Re-Use section of the minutes the following is stated:
“The Environment Agency will also determine whether the usage of the information has already been permitted, and if so whether any significant differences are present in this request. If an information licensing assessment is undertaken, then the question as to how the user will apply the information technically will be considered. These questions check the use against defined tests such as misleading to the end user or detrimental impact on the environment or the Environment Agency or its policies.”
In the BoLD section of the minutes the following is stated:
“One particular aspect that Ordnance Survey was hoping to address was that of the so-called ‘Grey market’. Here, users were exploiting Ordnance Survey material without seeking full licensing terms and conditions in advance. There have been a range of estimates as to the revenue lost by Ordnance Survey through this activity; they tend to range from £1 – 5 million. Therefore, Ordnance Survey sought to establish the extent and nature of the grey market, reasons as to why people were acting in this fashion and how this market should be tackled through communication.”
- 93 reads
