On 1/23/06, Phil Boswell phil.boswell@gmail.com wrote:
So at what point does attempting to assert your copyright become "making a legal threat"?
Should a copyright holder whisper very gently "you're violating my copyright, but that's OK, we wouldn't want the lawyers involved"?
The point of the "no legal threats" policy is that legal threats end discussion. Once lawyers and courts are involved, discussion is over and you're on to adjudication. In other words, when someone is actually carrying out legal action, talking about it on Wikipedia is pointless- which means that legal threats have absolutely no value for any kind of rational discussion.
So, as you are asking, how should someone enforce their legal rights? Answer: By pointing out their legal rights, without making threats. "This item is my intellectual property and you do not have permission to use it." At that point, we should remove it immediately. There is no need to mention, or benefit from mentioning, lawyers or lawsuits.
Ryan