On Fri, Jan 16, 2009 at 11:42 AM, WJhonson@aol.com wrote:
The question again is not taking a copy of things. It's taking a copy of my photograph. I photograph the Taj Mahal and put it on my own web page. You take my copy and post it to Commons.
That's what you want? That seems legitimate? Answer that question.
It would be legitimate if copyright law permitted it. In that case it likely does not. What case law we have suggests that photographing a three-dimensional object requires a sufficient amount of creativity to be a copyrightable work. Thus, you would hold a valid copyright in that photograph and I would respect the law.
When we're talking about commercial organizations, they will do anything they are legally permitted to do that will further their interests. It is their duty to do so, in fact, if they're a US public company. I fail to see why Wikipedia, or other free-content organizations, or individuals, need to respect some additional moral imperative you seem to see above and beyond that, when commercial organizations will not respect any such.
-Matt