82 THe geOgRaPHiC anD
CaRTOgRaPHiC FRaMeWORK
maps are built on the work of others. Therefore, some knowledge of copyright laws
is necessary.
Publications and maps produced by the U.S. government are in the
public domain,
that is, they may be used without obtaining permission. This is not true, however,
of publications produced by the private sector or by agencies in other countries. For
example, British Ordnance Survey maps are produced under Crown copyright and a
fee must be paid for their reproduction. Be aware that just because an organization
has “national” or “American” in its name, it is not necessarily a government orga-
nization; the National Geographic Society and the American Automobile Associa-
tion are examples. Permission must be obtained for using maps from either of these
organizations even if they are only used for base data. If one is using source maps
or thematic data that were taken from any copyrighted source, it is necessary to get
permission in writing to use these data. A fee may be charged for permission; often,
the wording of the source statement is specified. Do not assume that a map on the
Internet is in the public domain. Copies of old maps published or printed by museums
are also not necessarily in the public domain; the map itself may be beyond copyright
date, but the copy or photograph created by the museum may be copyrighted.
Sources should be shown on the map in some way even for information that is
in the public domain. This is akin to footnoting a statement in a written publication.
The source statement serves the purpose of allowing the reader to go to the reference
for more complete information and to judge the accuracy of the information. If your
map is based on several other maps, but you show the information in a new way, you
don’t
need permission, but you must acknowledge your sources on your map.
One should also keep a file of permissions and a record of sources, just as one
compiles a bibliography for a written work.
