The development and convergence of technologies used in collecting and distributing hydrographic data has resulted in significant increases in the economic value of hydrographic products and services. Hydrographic data is nowadays used more critically in marine navigation and more widely in fields such as marine resource management, environmental protection and sustainable development. These developments raise new issues of risk management and asset protection for a national hydrographic authority and its agents.

Legal Issues in Hydrography
To some extent hydrography has always been a globalised industry, but until recently it focussed typically on providing services as a public activity, using government employees and government resources. The hydrographic products were thus largely subsidised. However, new international pressures are at play in the modern environment. As the commercial value and interest in hydrographic data increase and governments introduce commercialisation policies, many hydrographic authorities are being required to return more visible economic value from their hydrographic data assets. The commercial and legal relationships between the hydrographic surveyor, the chart maker and the user are changing as a result. Now, there is often no connection between the hydrographic surveyor, the chart maker and the user other than through a commercial relationship. In this new environment, some of the legal factors that have to be considered include liability, intellectual property and commercialisation.

Liability
While the situation varies between international jurisdictions, there is an increasing likelihood for governments and courts to hold the national hydrographer liable for negligent or wrongful acts in collecting and compiling hydrographic data.
Historically, governments have acted to exempt themselves from liability in the conduct of their operations. However, the modern trend is for governments to legislate to make themselves liable in contract and tort (actionable wrongs). This reflects the view that governments should be liable for the wrongs which they commit during their day-to-day activities. Also, governments have tended to outsource, commercialise and even privatise their hydrographic functions to achieve economies and marketplace accountability.
The emphasis on economic value and on liability has placed increasing pressure on hydrographic authorities to stand behind their commercial products. Consequently, hydrographic authorities must now look for measures which will counter any liability that they may otherwise attract and particularly look to ways of reducing the prospect of committing tortuous acts. It is in this context of risk management that a hydrographic authority must now organise its affairs. Risk management can be described as the systematic application of management actions to effectively manage opportunities and adverse effects. Some of the options available to minimise risk are process controls, compliance programmes and regular audits.
Through proper risk management, the occurrence of acts that cause harm can be effectively reduced. Mechanisms may also be put in place to allow hydrographers to transfer risk to third parties. Examples of these mechanisms are contractual terms (e.g. exclusions and indemnities) and disclaimer notices placed upon various products. These need to be carefully drafted, however. Disclaimers are strictly construed and must convey the limitation of liability precisely.

Intellectual Property
For hydrographic authorities, the intellectual property subsisting in their data and products is their most valuable asset. Maps and charts are generally protected as artistic works under relevant national intellectual property legislation. The inherent difficulty of directly copying paper charts has frequently operated as a technological impediment to any extensive unauthorised reproduction.
However, this is not the case for digital data. Reproduction of such data is relatively easy while intellectual property protection may be uncertain or untested. The widespread ability to reproduce hydrographic data in digital form often means that the sole constraint on the production, communication and application of this data is the value of the economic good produced.
The legal issue lies in achieving intellectual property protection of the data in a new digital format. In this context Article 10 of the Agreement on Trade-Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights, Including Trade in Counterfeit Goods (the TRIPS Agreement) requires the protection of compilations of data, whether or not in machine-readable form, as intellectual creations. The European Database Directive goes further. It stipulates two protections or rights for databases: copyright protection for the data, based on its selection and arrangement, and sui generis (unique) protection relating to the extraction of the data from a database.
There is also an increasing trend to protect communications to the public including transmissions by cable. This level of protection is relevant to the use and distribution of data as the hydrographic authorities come to rely increasingly upon electronic distribution of their products.
A particular value in intellectual property protection is the mechanism that it affords to the hydrographer to control the circumstances, and consequently the quality and accuracy, of the reproduction of the hydrographic products, and in many cases the circumstances of their use.

Commercialisation
The increasing pressure on hydrographic authorities to make their charts and data available to a wider audience while at the same time achieving economic rewards, leads to the requirement for hydrographers to establish commercial mechanisms for the market release of their products.
The sale and resale of paper chart products are relatively straightforward wholesale/resale processes. There is still a significant market for these products, and hydrographic authorities have established systems to supply them.
The difficulty arises where customers of the hydrographer seek to reproduce or modify the hydrographic product or to provide value-added services. If the hydrographic authority wishes to control this process of reproduction and modification, it must establish a system of permissions, or licences that include appropriate conditions.
These provisions must establish the terms and conditions that are to apply between the hydrographic authority and the exploiter. Any licence should address issues such as the proposed use, the standards and circumstances to apply to the exploitation, the extent to which reproduction and modification will occur, the extent of the market, the price, advertising and other standard terms.
Commercialisation can create tensions for hydrographic authorities as they seek to best serve government interests while at the same time attempting to satisfy commercial demand.

International Issues
The changing world scene is affecting hydrographic authorities at the international level as well as at the national and commercial scale.
In response to the growing technological and commercial pressures on the operations of hydrographic authorities the International Hydrographic Organization (IHO) has formed a Strategic Planning Working Group to address reform issues. One of the most important is the need for major revision of the treaty arrangements. It is clear that the new relationship between the production of hydrographic products and services and their commercial exploitation has influenced the need for such a significant review.
Apart from the above considerations, changes to the International Convention for the Safety of Life at Sea (SOLAS) have imposed new obligations on governments in relation to hydrographic services. Regulation 9.1 of Chapter V of SOLAS provides that Contracting Governments undertake to arrange for the collection, compilation, publication and dissemination of hydrographic date and the keeping up to date of all nautical information necessary for safe navigation. Regulation 19.2.1.4 of Chapter V of SOLAS provides that ships irrespective of size shall carry nautical charts.

Conclusion
The international requirements, national policies and technological innovation are imperatives impacting on the work of hydrographic authorities and their relationships with their clients. As they seek to reorganise to meet the challenges, nationally and internationally, they would be prudent to ensure that they have effective risk management regimes in place to cope with the potential legal impacts arising from these changed relationships.