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.
Ec