Hi Stephen,
Would this list be a place to suggest that WMF send letters to individual legislators or
other government officials to advocate for particular policies, such as an expansion of US
Freedom of Panorama liberties and greater clarity about the copyright status of orphan
works?
For example, there are entire old computer programs from companies that seem to have
dissolved. I would consider these programs to be orphan works. They are shared on the
Internet with no legal threats that I've ever heard. Could some of these venerable and
notable programs be hosted in their entirety on MediaWiki for free redistribution? My
guess is that WMF would be willing to host these programs for posterity if the U.S.
Congress would take some steps to clarify when orphan works effectively become freeware
when there is no one able to claim, or interested in claiming, copyright ownership of the
software.
Pine
Date: Mon, 19 Nov 2012 17:34:23 -0800
From: slaporte(a)wikimedia.org
To: advocacy_advisors(a)lists.wikimedia.org
Subject: Re: [Advocacy Advisors] Advocacy Advisers feedback
Hello Pine,
I am interested in the community's perspective on any legal or policy issues that are
related to our work. I know there are many Wikimedians who are passionate and
knowledgeable in this area, so I hope this list can be a forum to share individual
opinions and updates about broader discussions within the community. I am especially
interested in any community discussions about advocacy, such as the recent protests on the
Italian, Tagalog, and Russian Wikipedias (Wikipediae?).
At the moment, I am sharing news stories I find interesting. These are not necessarily
points for advocacy, although any feedback or opinion is certainly welcome. I hope that if
someone were to ask me about a point of advocacy (such as, for example, preparing an
amicus brief), I could turn to this group for consultation.
The list is relative young, so we are still finding our stride. If you have any
suggestions, I would be happy to hear it!
Cheers,Stephen
On Mon, Nov 19, 2012 at 10:13 AM, ENWP Pine <deyntestiss(a)hotmail.com> wrote:
Hi Stephen,
Can you clarify what kinds of questions or feedback you are seeking in regards to posts
that you make to the Advocacy Advisers list? While I find the information useful and
interesting, I'm not sure what discussion or feedback would be useful to WMF.
Thanks,
Pine
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--
Stephen LaPorte
Legal CounselWikimedia Foundation
For legal reasons, I may only serve as an attorney for the Wikimedia Foundation. This
means I may not give legal advice to or serve as a lawyer for community members,
volunteers, or staff members in their personal capacity.
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