====== Copyright and legal guidelines ======

===== Situation =====

There are two basic rules to consider: facts can't be copyrighted and most resources we want to use to gain data or information is copyright protected. While this might sound like a contradiction, this is the reality we are confronted with.

I can freely use **single** facts from a website and add them to the filming location database. However, a **collection of facts** is copyrighted and can't be added.

===== And in reality? =====

Let's look at 2 real life examples:

You want to add the Bar Vitelli, featured in the Godfather (1972), to the filming location database and see they have a [[https://barvitelli.it|website]]. There you find an address, a phone number, and so on.

You may use this information, as it is considered a single fact: information about a local café/bar, taken from the official website.

Now you want to add a Mugg & Bean restaurant you've seen in a movie, but don't know where exactly it is located. You know they have a [[https://location.muggandbean.co.za/|store locator]] on the official website, where you find the address, and additional information.

However, this is considered a **collection of facts** and its data can't be added to the filming location database.

As a rule of thumb, single facts are only ok to use, if you take them from the business' or location's official website. A business page on facebook, for example, is copyright protected, because it is not considered a single fact, but a part of facebook as a whole.

If in doubt, please don't add the location. The filming location database is meant to be truly free data without the reputation of dodgy practises.

===== Compatible licenses =====

There are free licenses that might be used without asking for consent. The OpenStreetMap wiki has a [[https://wiki.openstreetmap.org/wiki/Import/ODbL_Compatibility|list]], which licenses are compatible with the ODbL. Since they use the same license as the filming location database, it is also applicable for us.

Be aware: some licenses that are compatible might need attribution. Only add data from those sources if you can comply with its attribution requirements.

===== OpenStreetMap data =====

OpenStreetMap data can be added to the filming location database, because we added the proper attribution to the copyright notice.

===== Further information =====

  * [[https://lgms.nl/blog-13|Luc Gommans: Copyright FAQ]]
  * [[https://wiki.openstreetmap.org/wiki/Import/ODbL_Compatibility|OpenStreetMap wiki: Import/ODbL_Compatibility]]
  * [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Copyright_in_compilation|Wikipedia: Copyright in compilation]]