[whaleofatw2022]

Where it gets tricky is that, at least in past US case law, 'maps are facts' and thus cannot be copyrighted as easily (this is part of why published maps often have intentional, hopefully subtle errors in them) [0]

[0] - I believe a specific case was Nintendo vs Prima publishing, which was even involving a map of a fictitious construct.

[jamesfinlayson]

> this is part of why published maps often have intentional, hopefully subtle errors in them

Yes I remember reading a few years ago about the Royal Australian Navy trying to find Sand Island which I think was some tiny island marked on maps of part of the Pacific Ocean off the coast of Australia - what they found was open ocean 1,100m deep, and concluded it was the map-maker's "mark".

[mattkrause]

The consensus was that Sandy Island was not a copyright “trap.” Some of the sightings may have been floating pumice from an undersea volcano, and the “confirmations” came from a chain of errors.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sandy_Island,_New_Caledonia

[dataflow]

IIUC that particular case has details that don't fit into the general scenario I mentioned, and they affected its outcome.