File talk:World.svg
The original UN page has the following copyright notice: "Unless otherwise noted, the maps included on this web site are produced by the Cartographic Section and are copyrighted by the United Nations. Reproduction of any part without the permission of the copyright owner is unlawful. Reproduction of any part without the permission of the copyright owner is unlawful. Please contact us for any questions regarding publication permissions"
The F.A.Q. on the same page includes this item: "How can I buy your maps? - Our principle is to share maps and data as much as we can. You can download, print and use our maps for non-profit purposes, free of charge . We ask that the map numbers be retained for reference purposes and that you give attribution to the source."
The UN Cartographic Section About page claims, among other text: "UN maps are open source material and you can use them in your work or for making your own map. We request however that you delete the UN name and reference number upon any modification to the map. Content of your map will be your responsibility. You can state in your publication if you wish something like: based on UN map…"
Summary:
- Someone should educate UN on CC licenses and get them to be officially specific on what is allowed and what is not. Their FAQ seems to aim for CC-BY-NC, but the Copyright text does not reflect this. The vague reference to "open source" confuses things even more. I will right now email them and I encourage others to do the same.
- IMHO, the uploader of the map does not hold the Copyright to the map, and thus cannot release it into public domain. Removing country names does not transfer Copyright. I admit the vague language on UN pages might lead one to think so.
