Best charts for OpenCPN

[AntarcticPilot]

In IP law, "public domain" means that you renounce your copyright on something, permitting anybody to use it for any purpose. You can't even change your mind later, because you're no longer the owner.

Freely giving it to people and telling them they can make copies, as in open-source software, is not public domain because the copyright owner still has the copyright.

Publishing something on the internet, like say a picture on a news website, is obviously not public domain because although people can freely see it, they are not allowed to redistribute it.

Having something which you want to keep proprietary published and copied against your express intention is so far from being public domain that the suggestion is laughable.

(Dockhead's original post used the term sarcastically in inverted commas, which is fair enough.)

Pete

Even linking to something without permission MAY be a breach of copyright - Google "Shetland News Copyright". Sadly for most of us, the case was settled out of court, but the indications were that a court would have decided that "deep linking" is illegal for copyright material - which is anything on the internet, as no pages are older than 70 years!

 

[prv]

Even linking to something without permission MAY be a breach of copyright - Google "Shetland News Copyright". Sadly for most of us, the case was settled out of court, but the indications were that a court would have decided that "deep linking" is illegal for copyright material - which is anything on the internet, as no pages are older than 70 years!

That case was almost 20 years ago, when the courts didn't really understand what the Web was. I'd hope it would go rather differently if brought today.

Pete

 

[tonygibbs]

The visitmyharbour charts are, AFAIK, windows only. The CM93 charts which many people use with OpenCPN outside areas like the US where the government provide free charts are dodgy downloads of questionable legality. There is a (still in beta) plugin for OpenCPN to support S63 format charts available from chartworld, although frankly those charts are a bit pricey.

Don't think they are Windows only as I have VMH charts on my Nexus 7 and an Android smartphone and work as they should.

 

[dgadee]

Even linking to something without permission MAY be a breach of copyright - Google "Shetland News Copyright". Sadly for most of us, the case was settled out of court, but the indications were that a court would have decided that "deep linking" is illegal for copyright material - which is anything on the internet, as no pages are older than 70 years!

Deep linking hasn't really been much of an issue in IT Law for a decade or more, and most of the issues were more to do with passing off or unfair competition rather than copyright. I am not sure that the Shetland case would have been decided on copyright, for example. Not sure what you mean by page age - standard copyright term is death of author plus seventy years (there are some differences in detail) and not related to when something appeared on the internet.

Isn't the internet great for keeping you occupied when you can't sleep ...

 

[Monique]

For those who are interested...

I want peace, quiet and redundancy during our circumnavigation ... so I've changed tack on electronic fit/charts. The E kit is 25 yo on Eleuthera and going RTW with these tired components is not smart and very limited in capabilities. So I've chosen to complete a full electronic refit. The following gear is in installation process for Eleuthera.

At the NAV station, Raymarine a98 MFD with upgraded forward and sidescan sonar kit. ( want to see the bottom in uncharted bays at far off destinations. If I see an occasional fish, its a bonus)
a75 at the helm
i70 instruments
AIS 650
Raymarine hydraulic AP to back up the existing 7000.
Raymarine open array radar 12 kw SHD.. (heavy but OK ... as fitted to the mizzen)
All components WIFI linked
Navionics charts for a RTW coverage. iPad available everywhere.

Standard Horizon 2200E with Command mike at the helm,
Standard Horizon HX 851 portable for the grab bag
ICOM portable for comms with dinghy
HF Icom 801E with Pactor 4 Modem... will also buy an Inmarsat compatible portable SAT phone.

Internet not needed during crossings.

 

[AntarcticPilot]

Deep linking hasn't really been much of an issue in IT Law for a decade or more, and most of the issues were more to do with passing off or unfair competition rather than copyright. I am not sure that the Shetland case would have been decided on copyright, for example. Not sure what you mean by page age - standard copyright term is death of author plus seventy years (there are some differences in detail) and not related to when something appeared on the internet.

Isn't the internet great for keeping you occupied when you can't sleep ...

Publishing something in a different form from the original creates copyright in the representation in the new form. For example, the text of a book is copyright the author, but the specific page-layout and type-setting is copyright the publisher. A new edition of (for example, to keep it boaty), Jules' Verne's "20,000 Leagues beneath the Sea" is out of the author's copyright, but the publisher of a new edition of the book would still have copyright in the particular page-layout etc., and it would still be illegal to photocopy it unless it was more than 70 years since the date of publication. Of course, a translator and illustrator might also be in on the act; I have an edition of that book on my shelf which is a new translation and hence quite definitely copyright of the translator, who is also the illustrator.

Yes, the Shetland case is 20 years old, but as far as I know it still represents the best precedents that would be available to a judge. It wouldn't be binding, as it was settled out of court, but the legal profession likes precedent. As you say, that case was also about content being displayed without the surrounding identifying and advertising material, I think.

All this is, of course, according to UK law, which has a much less demanding test for the creation of copyright than many jurisdictions do. UK law applies what is called the "sweat of the brow" test - in other words, did someone have to do some work to create a particular published object. That effort could be as trivial as going through the telephone directory and listing all the people whose first initial was "A"; such a list would be copyright - though of doubtful value! UK law does not require original thought to establish copyright, though it must be said that a judge would be unlikely to award significant penalties in a trivial case such as the telephone directory illustration.

 

[dgadee]

Publishing something in a different form from the original creates copyright in the representation in the new form. For example, the text of a book is copyright the author, but the specific page-layout and type-setting is copyright the publisher. A new edition of (for example, to keep it boaty), Jules' Verne's "20,000 Leagues beneath the Sea" is out of the author's copyright, but the publisher of a new edition of the book would still have copyright in the particular page-layout etc., and it would still be illegal to photocopy it unless it was more than 70 years since the date of publication. Of course, a translator and illustrator might also be in on the act; I have an edition of that book on my shelf which is a new translation and hence quite definitely copyright of the translator, who is also the illustrator.

Yes, the Shetland case is 20 years old, but as far as I know it still represents the best precedents that would be available to a judge. It wouldn't be binding, as it was settled out of court, but the legal profession likes precedent. As you say, that case was also about content being displayed without the surrounding identifying and advertising material, I think.

All this is, of course, according to UK law, which has a much less demanding test for the creation of copyright than many jurisdictions do. UK law applies what is called the "sweat of the brow" test - in other words, did someone have to do some work to create a particular published object. That effort could be as trivial as going through the telephone directory and listing all the people whose first initial was "A"; such a list would be copyright - though of doubtful value! UK law does not require original thought to establish copyright, though it must be said that a judge would be unlikely to award significant penalties in a trivial case such as the telephone directory illustration.

Having taught the subject for some decades, I think there may be some basic confusions in your reply. Not to worry.

 

[AntarcticPilot]

Having taught the subject for some decades, I think there may be some basic confusions in your reply. Not to worry.

Sorry I was teaching Granny to suck eggs! I do have a professional interest in copyright issues (in the field of data and map publishing), but IANAL, and was going on seminars taught by copyright lawyers targeted at geographic information and data management specialists. I do recall one self-deprecating diagram they put up - a sort of "truth table" of smily and frowning faces - the only group consistently smiling were copyright lawyers!