Re: [DMCA-Activists] Boaters lost in marine chart fight

[Ruben Safir Secretary NYLXS]

In fact, if we can get if to rip himself from his work with Concord
Hs in the NYC Board of Education, where he is running nearly everything 
with GNU/Linux software, we might be able to get him to do a demonstration
of his work with this equiptment and programming.  He's already donated a great
bulk of Free Software he's developed to NYLXS and we hope to be moving rather 
quickly at making the stuff available for general consumption.

Ruben

        
        
        On Fri, Apr 09, 2004 at 03:21:20PM -0400, Seth Johnson wrote:
> 
> > http://stjohns.cbc.ca/regional/servlet/View?filename=nl_chartfight20040409
> 
> 
> Boaters lost in marine chart fight
> 
> 
> Apr 9 2004 01:17 PM NDT
> 
> HALIFAX  —  A legal dispute over electronic marine charts may prevent up to
> 100,000 Canadian boaters from accessing accurate navigational tools.
> 
> In a few weeks, thousands of boat owners across Canada will be gearing up
> for the season. There are almost four million fishing, commerical and
> pleasure boats in Canada, all of them navigating shallow coastal waters
> using a network of lighthouses and bouys.
> 
> Most boaters use marine charts, which are like road maps of coastal areas,
> to find their way around. Many boaters use paper charts to locate bouys and
> lighthouses, but in the past few years people have begun using devices with
> built in electronic charts. What many boatowners don't know is now most of
> those electronic charts are illegal.
> 
> It's all because of a nasty copyright issue. Charts are made at taxpayer
> expense by the Canadian Hydrographic Service, but 10 years ago the service
> made a deal with a Newfoundland company called NDI, and handed the company
> sole rights to all Canadian charts in electronic form.
> 
> NDI spokesperson Greg Mercer says two other companies that dominate the
> electronic chart market worldwide have never recognized NDI's ownership to
> the Canadians charts and have refused to pay royalties. "Boaters have been
> using illegal information and dealers have been selling illegal
> information."
> 
> Last month, the dispute came to a head. The government warned marine dealers
> not to sell C-Map or Navionic electronic charts because the companies were
> in copyright violation, and that means up to 100,000 boat owners no longer
> have access to current electronic charts.
> 
> Ken Cirillo speaks for the Boston-based company C-Map. His company has
> warned Canadian boaters it can no longer do business in Canada. "There are
> 10,000 C-Map and Navionics users who now will have no access to updated
> charts," he says. "It's a safety issue." 
> 
> The Canadian Hydrographic Service won't reveal details of its exclusive deal
> with NDI, but it does recognize the looming safety issue and says its
> reviewing its relationship with NDI.
> 
> "When we made the deal 10 years ago it was good for everyone," says Steve
> Outhouse of the Canadian Hydrographic Service. "We know understand that its
> got to change."
> 
> But that position surprises NDI's Greg Mercer. "That is news to us that they
> are considering a change."
> 
> There is an urgency here. In a few weeks, thousands of boats will go in the
> water and as it stands now, many could leave the the dock without current
> charts, a situation everyone agrees is extremely dangerous.
> 
> 
> -- 
> 
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> 
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> 
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> 
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