[WikiEN-l] Re: US Congress Staff Editing Wikipedia

[Tim Starling]

Michael Snow wrote:
> Bryan Derksen wrote:
> 
>> My secret dream is to see the United States Congress hauled up before
>> the Arbitration Committee. Maybe we could get them to pass clearer
>> fair-use legislation as part of their parole.
> 
> 
> Clearer fair use legislation is not likely to do us any good. What we
> want is *more generous* fair use legislation.

US fair use legislation is already among the most generous in the world. Coupled with US-centric
Wikipedia policy, this has the effect that anyone attempting to distribute Wikipedia offline outside
the US risks being sued for copyright infringment. I'd prefer it if US fair use legislation was
brought into line with the rest of the world, i.e. made more restrictive not less.

The US government certainly can help our cause in other ways, such as by encouraging grant
recipients and private contractors to release their documents into the public domain, or to license
them under a copyleft license.

Or, you know, they could just give us money. Whatever.

-- Tim Starling