Geographic Information Science

Spatial information users and providers are increasingly concerned about the legal implications relating to the use and dissemination of geographic information for which there are no right or wrong methods of practice, and no one source of information. This book fills the gap by addressing key issues in contract law, intellectual property law, rights and responsabilities and liability as they relate to the GI community.

• The first book to interpret the law relating to GI Science and outline its implications to a general readership
• Provides a comprehensive discourse in law and GI Science irrespective of jurisdiction
• Offers a global perspective throughout with case materials coming from the UK, North America, the EU and Australasia

Table of Cases.

Table of Statutes.

Acknowledgements.

Introduction.

1. Geographic Information Science: Legal and Policy Issues.

2. Sharing Geographic Information and Data.

3. Geographic Information and Intellectual Property Rights.

4. Geographic Information and Privacy.

5. Geographic Information and Contract Law.

6. Geographic Information and Liability Standards.

References.

Index.

George Cho is Associate Professor of Geographic Information Systems and the Law, at the Faculty of Applied Science, University of Canberra, Australia.

GI Science is a fast growing technology that is an instigator of change and, as such, confronted with emergent legal problems. Spatial information users and providers are increasingly concerned about the legal implications relating to the use and dissemination of geographic information.

Geographic Information Science: Mastering the Legal Issues is about geographic information policy and the legal implications of sharing public sector spatial information data. It covers issues of contract, liability and negligence for erroneous and inaccurate data, ownership of tangible and intangible intellectual property rights, and the question of privacy. The general principles guiding legal frameworks surrounding GI in different countries are presented as examples to analyse, explain and describe court decisions and policy reasons behind the law. Attention is given to recent developments in e-commerce and geo-commerce, particularly in relation to location-based services, geodemographic studies and GPS navigation.

Features include:

• Examples, legal cases and material taken from a range of countries and jurisdictions;
• Case studies illustrating and highlighting practical legal problems in using GI for business, government and academic research;
• Key strategic, technical and legal issues in deploying GI systems;
• Recent developments and changes, interpretation of the law, and an outline of implications for GI managers;
• Signposts as further reading and URLs to assist further understanding.

Part of the Mastering GIS: Technology, Applications and Management Series, this book is essential reading for professional users of GIS data in the public and private sector, who need an overview of the legal implications of using such data. It will be a useful reference for upper-level undergraduate and Masters students studying for GIS degrees from a social and natural science perspective, and academic researchers who use spatial information in their work.