copyright intellectual-property licensing creative-commons derivative-work
Is creating a new GPS trace a derivative work while using GPS-based ADAS?
<p>There is a database of precise GPS traces. A trace from this database can be used in an <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Advanced_driver-assistance_systems" rel="nofollow noreferrer">Advanced driver-assistance system</a> to help keep the vehicle in its lane. The vehicle in question is driven by a human driver. Another precise GPS trace of vehicle's trajectory is recorded while using the original trace for ADAS - is the newly created GPS trace a derivative work of the original database or not?</p>

<p>The ADAS system is constantly monitoring vehicle's current position against the original GPS trace and may only issue a warning in case the vehicle should leave the path of the original GPS trace. The ADAS system by itself however is not able to intervene via vehicle steering and thus change the vehicle's path.</p>

<p>I am specifically interested in two cases - whether the above use case is a:</p>

<ol>
<li><p>derivative work according to the US copyright law</p></li>
<li><p>derivative work in terms of the <a href="https://opendatacommons.org/licenses/odbl/" rel="nofollow noreferrer">ODC Open Database License (ODbL)</a></p></li>
</ol>

<p>A GPS trace of a car's path, on its own, is unlikely to be covered by copyright in the first place. It is primarily made up of facts (the locations of roads and lanes), and there is no creativity involved in its creation.</p>

<p>A database of facts may be protected by copyright as a compilation if there is some amount of creativity in how it is assembled, but this does not extend any protection to the individual contents of the database (cf. <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Feist_Publications,_Inc.,_v._Rural_Telephone_Service_Co." rel="noreferrer">Feist v. Rural</a>).</p>
