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by mseebach 3979 days ago
$1B + R&D + uncertainty + sometime in the future + handing your competitors all your work for free << a $3B product of known high quality, delivered in full today with minimal uncertainty.

It's not even a contest. Especially when $3B isn't, whatchamacallit, a huge drain on your liquidity.
1 comments
rmc 3978 days ago
> handing your competitors all your work for free

Yes and No. The OSM licence is similar to the GPL. If you make a derived work, you have to share your changes back.

If OSM got a big cash bump, and was improved, then if (say) Google wants to put that improvement in Google Maps, they would be forced to release all the data that's in Google Maps. Unlikely to happen.

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mseebach 3978 days ago
No, but if OSM becomes good, then, say, Ford, can just grab it and use it in their cars for free. They're just going to use it, not improve it, so there's nothing to contribute back.

Then Audi, BMW and Mercedes spent $1b, and at the end of the day, their maps are the exact same as Ford's (who spend $0).

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