| The investigation examines how government information policies affect the transfer of spatial datasets to the scientific community and commercial information industry. National mapping agencies in Canada, France, Great Britain and United States were selected as the units for a comparative analysis. The study combines two formal research methods--questionnaire survey and case study techniques. The research questions explore the impact of national policy priorities, intellectual property rights, and pricing practices on the acquisition and commercialization of spatial data. Three principle findings are as follows: (1) According to respondents, nationally mandated policies are the primary determinant driving the cost-recovery practices being undertaken by those mapping agencies following such policies; (2) Responses indicated that academic end users and commercial intermediary users in Canada, France, and the UK face significant impediments in accessing mapping agency spatial data. For the commercial sector, the ability to commercialize spatial data is perceived by potential users as impeded as well. In contrast, at the US Federal level, pricing, copyright and licensing were not identified by respondents as significant impediments; and (3) The study strongly evidenced that the imposition of intellectual property rights by government on public information was a key variable in determining access to and commercialization of national mapping agency datasets. |
