Thomas Dalton wrote:
2009/4/26 Ray Saintonge:
The matters of principle in the Jacobsen v. Katzer appear to have been decided for the moment, but the denial of a preliminary injunction suggests that the practicalities are far from clear. While it's true enough that someone may have standing to sue with respect to most Wikipedia articles, how would it be worth their while?
Remember that pre-registration is still a requirement for a plaintiff who wants statutory damages or a recovery of legal costs. Without pre-registration he may get injunctive relief, and only recover actual damages.
People don't edit Wikipedia for the money, they do it because they think it is a worthy cause. If they were going to sue it would be to further that cause - injunctive relief being the desired outcome. Monetary damages would serve as a deterrent but, as you say, it would probably be difficult to get any under US law. Of course, there is nothing that says you have to sue in the US.
People who edit for altruistic reasons are only rarely in a position to mount an expensive legal case when the best possible outcome is limited to injunctive relief with no possibility of recovering legal costs.
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