[Wikipedia-l] What would Richard Stallman say?

[Ray Saintonge]

Hr. Daniel Mikkelsen wrote:

>2) Does the fact that we can _get away_ with fair use mean we should do it? We
>could probably get away with a lot of suspicious activities that would increase
>Wikipedia article output which we aren't pursuing. Just because you can,
>doesn't mean it's right. To me it's the difference between short term goals and
>long term goals.
>
Fair use is not a matter of "getting away" with anything, nor is it a 
"suspicious activity".  Pretending that using fair-use material is 
somehow a criminal activity shows a gross misunderstanding of the law. 
 Fair use is perfectly legal; that's why it's in the copyright law.  It 
remains fair use independently of the license that is used.  A 
downstream user who puts it in his own work does so at his own risk; 
we're not babysitters.

Ec