Getmapping charts legal showdown

AN ESCALATING dispute between internet mapmaker Getmapping, in which the Queen has a stake, and State-backed cartographer Ordnance Survey is set for a legal showdown on 16 May.

The spat between Queen and country will see Getmapping argue that OS breached terms of a contract in which it agrees to resell Getmapping's aerial images of Britain, and that OS's move to make and promote its own aerial images contravenes competition legislation.

Getmapping today blamed disappointing sales to Government agencies on OS. The public, though, seems eager to put Getmapping's photos on its living room walls and helped push up group sales 180% to £4.1m.

Costs of completing its aerial survey of England and Wales pushed pre-tax losses up 31% to £2.6m.

Spain will be Getmapping's first continental European target market and a website selling images taken in the country will go live in June.