20040426: restrictions on making ECMWF data plots available on your website (cont.)

>From: Gilbert Sebenste <address@hidden>
>Organization: NIU
>Keywords: 200404231502.i3NF2LCT009357 ECMWF data restrictions

Gilbert,

re:
>> We need to read the document before commenting on it.  Please send
>> along the pertinent URL(s).
>
>Good question. There is (or was) a list of WMO headers on the NWSTG 
>homepage that showed that everything was banned from the ECMWF on web 
>pages except for day 3-6 MSLP and 850 temps.

Linda Miller found an ECMWF URL that details their restrictions on the use
of their data:

http://www.ecmwf.int/products/additional/

There are two items on this page that are clear:

" Products originating from ECMWF are made available to sustain WMO
  Programmes and in particular to assist receiving National
  Meteorological Services (NMSs) in the provision of meteorological
  support in their countries. ECMWF declares that those products
  labelled as "additional", in the sense of resolution 40 (Cg-XII) of
  the WMO have the following conditions placed on their use and all
  receiving NMSs (hereafter "the Recipient") should be notified
  accordingly. These conditions apply equally to the Recipient and to
  third parties to whom the products are made available by the
  Recipient. Where these conditions are not maintained, even after
  notification of default to the Recipient, ECMWF reserves the right to
  introduce denial of access to those "additional" products to the
  Recipient (for all purposes). "

One operative sentence in the above is:

" These conditions apply equally to the Recipient and to third parties
  to whom the products are made available by the Recipient. "

NOAA is the Recipient and Unidata sites are fall into the category of
being "third parties".

In the list of restrictions, paragraphs 6 and 7 seem to fit your
situation:

" 6.  Free use of the products for research and education which has no
  commercial application is granted; but all other conditions (as listed
  above) remain attached, particularly where the products are
  subsequently released or used outside the receiving territory. The
  Recipient shall make best efforts to make these conditions known to the
  entities which might make use of the products for research or
  education. The Recipient should also make best efforts to satisfy
  itself that this special allowance is properly limited to the use for
  research and education envisaged under WMO Resolution 40. (If it proves
  necessary, ECMWF reserves the right to request those entities which
  wish to make use of the products for research and education to sign a
  statement recognising that they have been made aware of the
  conditions). "

" 7. Except for the case of WMO programmes, or of specific agreements
  provided for in paragraph 3 to 6, any transmission of the products
  outside the territory of the Recipient, or any release which may be
  followed by a transmission by a non-encrypted radio, satellite
  broadcast or publicly accessible information system and which are thus
  available for commercial use, directly or indirectly, is considered to
  be in breach of these conditions. "

To me, the operative portions of these two paragraphs are:

  6. ...  "which has no commercial application" ...

  7. ...  "release which may be followed by a transmission by a
           non-encrypted radio, satellite broadcast or publicly
           accessible information system" ...

The part that is still not clear is whether or not plots of the data in
the products is considered -- by ECMWF -- to be the same as the data
themselves.

Here is my reading of the situation:

      -- NOTE: THIS IS NOT a Unidata POLICY STATEMENT --

- your use of the ECMWF data does not appear to violate WMO Resolution 40
  restrictions

- "disadvantaging" commercial purchasers of ECMWF data by making
  your plots freely available faster than they can does not seem
  to violate either WMO 40 or ECMWF restrictions, at least, when
  use of those plots is entire within the territory of the
  Recipient (NOAA)

- making plots generally available from data whose redistribution is
  restricted by ECMWF is a gray area

- the potential downside of making your plots available is the loss of
  all ECMWF data at NOAA, and, hence, the entire NOAAPORT community

Since there are so few ECMWF products available in NOAAPORT, you
wouldn't lose much by either eliminating remote access to plots of that
data altogether, or by limiting access to your plot page to US .edu
domains.  If one of the major uses of your plot page is for things like
storm chasing by a limited set of folks on a non-commercial basis, you
could setup your web page(s) to disallow all access and then add allows
on a machine-by-machine basis.

My friendly advice to you is:

- stop making plots of the ECMWF data generally available on your web
  site

-- OR -- 

- contact the ECMWF directly to get their interpretation of their
  redistribution restrictions as it applies to _your_ situation

-- OR -- 

- provide a web page that has references (not links) to the ECMWF pages
  that provide plots of their own data

-- OR -- 

- somehow delay the availability of your ECMWF plots in a manner like
  the one requested by Colin

You could, of course, decide to "fight the good fight", but this might
lead to involvement of NIU and possibly NOAA lawyers.

>Then what will they think of weather.cod.edu's ECMWF site? Or Ohio State, 
>or Texas A&M (I think that one was taken down)? Am I alone in this?

I don't view you as being alone in this, but I do not pretend to create
policy for the ECMWF.

Cheers,

Tom
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