The legal framework of infrastructures and geographic information services: a model to encourage reuse

The geographical information generated in any field, and in particular in the public field, has a great interest both for the specific tasks for which it is generated and maintained and for other applications, in many cases not initially planned, and it has a great potential for the development of the knowledge society. With these words begins the Statement of Motives of Law 14/2010, of July 5, on infrastructures and geographic information services in Spain (LISIGE), through which INSPIRE is incorporated into Spanish legislation.

It is unquestionable that the development of information and communication technologies has allowed the integration of data obtained from different sources. From these data can be articulated value-added services based on interoperability. However, beyond these technological premises and, undoubtedly, the obvious economic interest linked to such services, the fact is that the popularization of geographic information services with an indisputable added value can only be explained in the last instance, at least since the legal point of view, in the adequate configuration of the normative framework they are based on. Therefore, it is interesting to identify the keys to the regulatory model that, in short, could serve as a teaching tool for other sectors of public activity in which an effective open data policy could encourage their reuse.

What are those characteristic features of the regulation related to infrastructures and geographic information services access?

• In the first place, an unquestionable advantage is the specific European regulation, the INSPIRE Directive approved in 2007, which makes possible to ensure that the spatial data infrastructures of the Member States are compatible and interoperable in a community and cross-border context. Apart from the general provisions on access and reuse, its purpose is to facilitate the application of public policies based on geographic information; in addition, it is not coincidental that said information is intimately linked to a field such as the environment, where there is a specially rigth-based legal regime when it comes to facilitating access to information
• On the other hand, some fact should be emphasized: data must be in electronic format and the use of metadata, whose scope and content are even legally established as regards their main requirements, is inexcusable.
• The establishment of a clear and unambiguous legal obligation to respect the requirements of standardization and interoperability. It is important to keep in mind that, on the one hand, the general rules of the National Interoperability Scheme, required for any public activity that uses electronic means, must be respected; and, on the other hand, the uniqueness of geographic information systems requires that they be completed with specific rules that are established by a single body - the Geographic High Council - taking into account international standards.
• The articulation of the system based not only on the principle of coordination but, above all, on the cooperation of various public entities; a premise of singular relevance in a decentralized organizational context such as the Spanish one, where various administrative levels have their own autonomy recognized. In this regard, beyond generic and inaccurate legal declarations, mutual access to data and services is legally established, except in the case of a judicial decision or, as the case may be, the concurrence of any of the justified causes provided by law, that is, public security, national defence, the existence of emergencies or international relations. Moreover, the legislator's commitment is unequivocal in establishing an express prohibition of restrictions that prevent the sharing of data, unless there is a specific legal provision.
• Regarding the restrictions on data access, the regulation starts from the establishment of assessed assumptions that, likewise, are the object of a precise wording that leaves little room for interpretation.
• Even when the possibility of demanding the collection of fees or public prices is contemplated, however, its amount is limited to the minimum required to guarantee data and services quality. Likewise, certain cases of gratuity are contemplated, as happens with the information linked to European regulatory obligations related to environment protection. Similarly, it also declares the general nature of certain localization and visualization services, unless there are objective circumstances that justify the collection of the public rate or price, as happens singularly with the large amounts of data that require continuous updating. From these perspective, the conditions of use of the Download Center of the National Geographic Information Center are established based on a license for use compatible with CC-BY 4.0, which covers free use for any legitimate purpose.
• Finally, without any exhaustive spirit, it seems relevant the support of a reference administrative instrument such as the cadastre, which must necessarily include real estate. Therefore, it becomes one of the axes of geographic information with minimum guarantees of precision and accuracy.

In short, the fact that the applicable legal regime facilitates the integration of any source throughout Spain and the European Union, sources that can be shared between different users and applications; that it is possible to share geographical data collected at a certain level of the Administrations and public sector bodies with other public organisations; that geographical data may be disseminated under conditions that do not unduly restrict its widespread use; and that it is possible to locate the available geographic data, evaluate its suitability for a specific purpose and know its conditions of use, as well as its legal and technical effects, are inexcusable premises to understand the promotion of services in this sector.

Once again, the legislator's own words in explaining the scope of the established measures, in short, enumerate the undeniable conditions that have contributed to facilitating the reuse of geographic information. Could we replicate this regulatory model in other areas?

Content prepared by Julián Valero, professor at the University of Murcia and Coordinator of the Research Group "Innovation, Law and Technology" (iDerTec).

Contents and points of view expressed in this publication are the exclusive responsibility of its author.