Comment by eofster | Hacker News Reader

Comment by eofster | Hacker News Reader

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First of all I want to emphasize that I want to comply with the license. This is my goal. And thank you for helping me to find the right solution for this.

I might be wrong, but here's how I see it.

I'm using the standard Apple framework called MapKit. It allows displaying your own map tiles. The "Legal" link is part of the framework UI and the framework API doesn't allow changing or hiding it. So doing so (changing or hiding it) is the way to risk not passing through the App Store review. I suspect that also Apple's own maps use OpenStreetMap data and Apple thinks it's legal and even obligatory to have this "Legal" link.

In my opinion, the "Legal" link is not just Apple's attribution that doesn't apply to third-party apps. It's specifically there, in the map framework MapKit, for the third-party apps on Apple platforms to display maps. The fact that the web page is technically located on Apple's web server doesn't automatically mean it's Apple's own attribution. It's all Apple's platform. The iOS apps are downloaded from the App Store, they use Apple APIs for interacting with the OS, they use Apple frameworks. By default, Apple's standard Licensed Application End User License Agreement applies for app distribution and usage.

And last and not least, it's not that the attribution is hidden or unreachable for the people using the app. It's right there, shown on tap, first line in bold text, the link to it is always visible on the map.

I am not a lawyer, just an avid OpenStreetMap editor and like to see where my contributions are used and credited.

> And last and not least, it's not that the attribution is hidden or unreachable for the people using the app. It's right there, shown on tap, first line in bold text, the link to it is always visible on the map.

The OpenStreetMap Copyright page [1] is pretty clear: "Where you use OpenStreetMap data, you are required to do the following two things: 1) Provide credit to OpenStreetMap by displaying our copyright notice. 2) Make clear that the data is available under the Open Database License."

The guidelines for attribution even suggest a text to use: https://osmfoundation.org/wiki/Licence/Attribution_Guideline... and this text is certainly not "Legal" linking to an Apple URL. As I see it, complying with the license would be putting "© OpenStreetMap contributors" at the bottom of your map view, but again, IANAL, just an OSM nerd.

[1]: https://www.openstreetmap.org/copyright

All those points - credit, link to the license, and suggested text - are right there, as the very first line of the page that opens on tap. So the difference is if all of that must be directly on a map itself or a link to the attribution, especially when there's little space on the screen, is also in compliance with the license. I've just been thinking that it's in compliance.

That's the legal part. I've been also thinking about all the contributors, and had an impression that the attribution shown after a single tap would be okay for them too.

See https://osmfoundation.org/wiki/Licence/Attribution_Guideline...

> While the lower right corner is traditional, any corner of the map is acceptable. Alternatively, the attribution may be placed adjacent to the map or on a splash screen or pop-up shown when a user starts the app, device, website, etc.

Please add attribution “© OpenStreetMap contributors” or “© OpenStreetMap” in the bottom right corner. There is a large community of volunteers around the world who contribute to this map.

There's a list of illegal usage at https://github.com/matkoniecz/illegal-use-of-OpenStreetMap#w...

Yep, thank you and habi for bringing this up. Now, after learning the Attribution Guidelines more thoroughly, I'm updating the app to show the attribution directly on a map and fading it as specified by the guidelines.

Released a new version with a proper attribution that is always shown on the map.

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