Sarah wrote:
So what kinds of publishers are the potential beneficiaries of our image policies?
The "future us", I'd say. All kinds of things could happen - Wikimedia Foundation becomes a giant publishing conglomerate, record companies get fair use outlawed, etc. Even images that got permission "for Wikipedia" several years ago are now in a sticky position for use by Wikibooks, Wikinews, and other projects that have come into existence since then. Only with the free images can we be confident of being able to use them in whatever new undertaking that we dream up.
Stan