On 7/20/07, Erik Moeller <erik(a)wikimedia.org> wrote:
CC representatives have already responded here on this list with a
clear legal position that the moral rights clause does not add any new
restrictions, and indicated that they would be willing to improve the
wording in future licenses. What more can they do?
Their statements on the subject are certainly welcome, but they are
not courts, and their "clear legal position" is at best a legal
opinion. That they wrote the licences is not important, it is the
courts who interpret and apply the words used.
The problem with the "except" clause is that the jurisdictions in
which moral rights protection is weak do not really "permit" uses
incompatible with moral rights, they just do not make unlawful those
uses. Their laws are silent on the matter. Any law student can tell
you that "lawful" is not the same as "not unlawful".
we (or a court, or anyone applying the licence)
--
Stephen Bain
stephen.bain(a)gmail.com