On 1/20/06, Ray Saintonge saintonge@telus.net wrote:
Absolutely. Unfortunately, there are extreme views at both ends of this spectrum. The simple fact that publishing an image would somehow be in the public interest is not enough to defeat someone's copyrights. On the other hand it is also simplistic to say that because there is a subsisting copyright the image cannot be used at all. "Fair use" is a tool on the path to free use that can be used to great effect in the right circumstances. By rejecting it completely we also make it easier for those favoring more restrictive copyrights because they can now take the abandoned ground unopposed.
I think in regards to Wikipedia policy there are two options:
1. We reject all fair use images in favor of entirely "free" ones. One could read this as a retreat from copyright holders (as you imply above), or one could read this as the only genuine way to create truly free cultural products. Commons embraces this approach (with the latter reasoning), WP:En does not. 2. We approach fair use reasonably, not being afraid of using it where we need to and with a philosophy of "least likelihood of anybody thinking they could sue us and win." This solution is not the *easiest* one -- it rests on subjective and often uninformed interpretations of an ambiguous part of U.S. copyright law -- and nor does it necessarily accomplish the primary goal of ultimate redistribution freedom (in fact most countries do not have statutes anywhere as lenient as the "fair use" provisions in U.S. copyright law), but it lends itself to producing a more "complete" and "professional-looking" encyclopedia. It also might mean that we are making some sort of stand about the limitations of copyrights, but I suspect this is only a secondary motivation or interpretation. In any event, this is the policy we current follow on WP:En.
FF