b m wrote:
(lagging behind because im new and being moderated)...anyway, the reference issue IS being discussed on the Dutch wikipedia, but it just doesn't catch on apparently.
I'm glad to hear it's being discussed. If it doesn't catch on, that's the way things are.
As for copyrighted images...did wikimedia ever contact the 5 largest media conglomerates and as nicely if they could use their copyrighted images (album covers, movie posters) in wikipedia? If necessary watermarked to prevent them being used as illegal covers? Most media are controlled by few companies, surely it could be done to get permission, it's in their interest too to have more exposure and info about their artists and such.
I can't say for sure that anyone has tried such contact, but it wouldn't surprise me to hear that some have done this on their own. The interest of the company is probably best served by stonewalling and refusing to answer such questions at all, even when the answer is obvious. They, or their legal advisers, know that anything that they say could be embarrassingly brought into evidence in some future case that may have nothing to do with the current request. Someone who is refused could argue, "But you allowed this for Wikipedia." These companies do not want to put loose canons on the deck
I mean, what's an article about "Abbey Road" or "Dark Side of the Moon" without the album cover....? We Dutch read articles about music without seeing album covers or other copyrighted media, that's a bit of a shame, because describing it and seeing it are two different things altogether!
English does this through fair use policy. Dutch Wikipedians could do this, but that's their decision. In many respects the media conglomerates can be seen as satisfied by the application of fair use to achieve the exposure that you mentioned. As long as the usage of material, such as album covers, comes within what they accept as fair use, they can sit back and do nothing without committing themselves. This leaves open the option for them to act when _they_ feel that the fair use claims have gone too far. They are not likely to complain about most low resolution reproductions of album covers. Even with the more rigid fair dealing rules of the European Union, I can't see them taking any action. It only gets tricky when the government feels it has a right to prosecute with or without the support of the copyright owner. To repeat it's really up to the Dutch to decide what sort of risk management policy should be followed there.
Ec