While I was focused on Apple using TIGER in Phoenix, others noticed that Apple was using OpenStreetMap data. But as Martin Daly points out, where is the attribution?

OpenStreetMap needs attribution is used. I looked yesterday to see if there was any credit to the map and didn’t find anything. Nobody has added the Apple maps to the “Lacking Attribution” page on the OSM wiki yet.

So what will happen? If this was Esri or some other large company “stealing” data, the OSM community might be up in arms over the lack of credit. But since it is Apple, will they let it slide?

Is it inconceivable that Apple might not attribute?

UPDATE 1: Alistair Aitchison dives much deeper into the issue. He has a great observation though:

It seems that whoever rendered these tiles lacks any real understanding of how OSM data is structured.

That is clear, this is a hack job at using OSM and TIGER.

UPDATE 2: OSM Foundation welcomes Apple in a blog post. The whole thing is very passive-aggressive. Guys, if you feel Apple is doing you wrong, just say so. It isn’t like they are going to donate new iPads to every Foundation member.