The letters and numbers used to designate the lines are a kind of knowledge of the features of the earth, just as the name of a town, or the reporting marks of a railway line, or a highway number are a kind of knowledge of the features of the earth (even if the railway reporting marks are a trademark of the railway company, they are nevertheless used on maps as identification). A map without markings is not as useful as one with. Therefore, it is possible to draw a map of the New York Subway system lines free of hindrance, which are after all features of the earth.(for if it was it would be impossible to produce any map whatever that was free of hindrance). Any map that is a representation of features of the earth, drawn from knowledge of those features, and not directly a copy of another map, is not a copyright violation of any other particular map merely because it represents the same features.Nonetheless, this map, is not copyright by the MTA under the following analysis. Some maps certainly are copyrighted, and some maps such as the two given above certainly are copyrighted by the MTA. Some of what follows is adapted from that discussion. See Commons:Undeletion_requests/Current requests#Image:NYC subway simplified map 50pct-optimized.png for discussion of this matter ( diff link). Questions have arisen about the copyright status of this or related maps, and in fact some of these maps have been deleted. Further, one user asserted 'The design of the New York City subway system and all of its components, including maps of it and the line symbols used on those maps, are copyrighted by the MTA and its ancestors.' Their site, asserts copyright over all materials on the site, including the two referenced maps. The Metropolitan Transportation Authority (the 'MTA') publishes several such maps, including two such current maps and, and possibly others.

This image, asserted by the uploader to be drawn by the uploader, or modified from a map drawn by another uploader, and asserted not to be a copied image, is a map of all or part of the New York City subway system.

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