On 5/20/06, Fastfission <fastfission(a)gmail.com> wrote:
Riiight... do you have a point in this argument
anymore, or are you
just doing it for sport?
I'll summarize my stance in this particular argument in case you can't
follow: The statement that "fair use is a defense and not a right" is
the kind of confusing mumbo jumbo I'd expect to be spouted out by the
RIAA, not a Wikipedian. Fair use is a fundamental right which is part
of the fundamental rights to free speech, free expression, free press,
etc. While it is difficult for a person to get an advance court
ruling guaranteeing her right to fair use in a particular case, it is
often possible - in fact the recent passage of 17 USC 512(f) as part
of OCILLA provides a promising new avenue for fighting the chilling
effects of copyright threat over materials distributed online.
Listen, I think it's a great idea to claim that we
should all stand up
and assert our fair use. Sounds great. But I'm not sure that's what
WMF should do with its donations, and I'm not sure the O RLY? owl is
the place to shed legal blood. There are copyright watchdogs out
there, let them do that sort of work. We're trying to build a free
encyclopedia here, last I checked, not serve as an anti-copyright
activist network.
FF
The other half of my argument is that Wikimedia should take advantage
of the OCILLA provisions when dealing with threats of lawsuits. Ray
Saintonge expressed this view better than I have, and we seem to be in
agreement. Refer to his recent emails in this thread for the details.
Anthony