I was considering the use of the OpenStreetMap API to retrieve vector features and combine them with other source data through a commercial tool. However, OpenStreetMap uses the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 2.0 (CC-BY-SA) license for its vector feature data. The OpenStreetMap copyright page mentions that:
OpenStreetMap is open data, licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 2.0 licence (CC-BY-SA).
You are free to copy, distribute, transmit and adapt our maps and data, as long as you credit OpenStreetMap and its contributors. If you alter or build upon our maps or data, you may distribute the result only under the same licence.
Does this mean that any item produced with OpenStreetMap data would need to be shared through CC-BY-SA? I do not want to place such restriction on our users, since they may combine OSM data with data that has distribution restrictions. I also wonder if people that use the OSM file import capabilities of several GIS tools are aware of the OpenStreetMap content license.
Answer
I believe you're correct: "If you alter, transform, or build upon this work, you may distribute the resulting work only under the same or similar license to this one." Basically, the same license that permits you to obtain the data prohibits you from keeping it (not sharing).
There is now a CC-BY-SA 3.0 too, but I don't immediately see the difference between that and 2.0 (except the title, "Attribution-ShareAlike 2.0 Generic" vs. "Attribution-ShareAlike 3.0 Unported"). Perhaps the full legal text is different, but that stuff makes me queasy.
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