There is a lot of talk about getting free alternatives to restricted Fair Use images, and how this is actually a priority of the Wikimedia Foundation.
That said, I want to point out one specific area where the Foundation is failing. The United States consists of 50 states, each of which has a state seal, but to date, only twenty of the state seal images are free, i.e., 60 percent are fair use images, when a free alternative should be easily available. In fact, what possible justification is there for using a fair use image?
Free State Seal images are available for:
Alabama, Alaska, Arkansas, Florida Hawaii, Indiana, Illinois, Iowa, Kentucky, Maine Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, New Jersey, New York, North Carolina, Oregon, Virginia, Washington State.
Fair use State Seal images are used for:
Arizona, California, Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, Georgia, Idaho, Kansas, Louisiana, Mississippi, Missouri, Montana, Nebraska, Nevada, New Hampshire, New Mexico, North Dakota, Ohio, Oklahoma, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, South Carolina, South Dakota, Tennessee, Texas, Utah, Vermont, West Virginia, Wisconsin, Wyoming.
As you can see, there is no why or wherefore to these lists. I hope that rectifying this becomes a priority.
Danny
************************************** Get a sneak peek of the all-new AOL at http://discover.aol.com/memed/aolcom30tour
daniwo59@aol.com wrote:
There is a lot of talk about getting free alternatives to restricted Fair Use images, and how this is actually a priority of the Wikimedia Foundation.
That said, I want to point out one specific area where the Foundation is failing. The United States consists of 50 states, each of which has a state seal, but to date, only twenty of the state seal images are free, i.e., 60 percent are fair use images, when a free alternative should be easily available. In fact, what possible justification is there for using a fair use image?
Am I missing something here? Redrawing a copyrighted image does not make it free, and works of states are copyrighted by default. How are we supposed to get a free image? It's like getting a free image of Mickey Mouse.
On 8/19/07, SPUI drspui@gmail.com wrote:
Am I missing something here? Redrawing a copyrighted image does not make it free, and works of states are copyrighted by default. How are we supposed to get a free image? It's like getting a free image of Mickey Mouse.
Yes, if the seals are subject to copyright then a drawn copy is also going to be subject to the same copyright.
But the thing with seals and stuff like that is that there are typically many versions made, which eventually go out of copyright. For Australia-relates things, for example, we use the now public domain 1912 version of the coat of arms, which still contains all the same elements (the shield, the wattle branches, the emu and the kangaroo) but is drawn differently.
It should be reasonably practicable for people from these states to find an old version of their state seal on which the copyright has expired. It may involve going to libraries in that state or something, so that's why we have this call for assistance on the list.
Stephen Bain wrote:
But the thing with seals and stuff like that is that there are typically many versions made, which eventually go out of copyright. For Australia-relates things, for example, we use the now public domain 1912 version of the coat of arms, which still contains all the same elements (the shield, the wattle branches, the emu and the kangaroo) but is drawn differently.
These obsolete public-domain versions will be useful for various "decorative" uses, such as icons in navboxes or in userboxes or on WikiProject pages, but IMO it would still be perfectly appropriate to use the current copyrighted fair-use versions in the article on the state itself (or an article specifically on the coat of arms, if there is one) in the same way that we use company logos.
On 8/19/07, SPUI drspui@gmail.com wrote:
Am I missing something here? Redrawing a copyrighted image does not make it free, and works of states are copyrighted by default. How are we supposed to get a free image? It's like getting a free image of Mickey Mouse.
I seem to remember that state seals are in fact public domain, and don't count as other works of the states do. Also, the vast majority are old enough for the original approved designs to be out of copyright in any event.
-Matt
{{sofixit}} If you say they are available, I assume you have found them, thus if they are free...upload them and replace the fair use images.
On 8/19/07, daniwo59@aol.com daniwo59@aol.com wrote:
There is a lot of talk about getting free alternatives to restricted Fair Use images, and how this is actually a priority of the Wikimedia Foundation.
That said, I want to point out one specific area where the Foundation is failing. The United States consists of 50 states, each of which has a state seal, but to date, only twenty of the state seal images are free, i.e., 60 percent are fair use images, when a free alternative should be easily available. In fact, what possible justification is there for using a fair use image?
Free State Seal images are available for:
Alabama, Alaska, Arkansas, Florida Hawaii, Indiana, Illinois, Iowa, Kentucky, Maine Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, New Jersey, New York, North Carolina, Oregon, Virginia, Washington State.
Fair use State Seal images are used for:
Arizona, California, Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, Georgia, Idaho, Kansas, Louisiana, Mississippi, Missouri, Montana, Nebraska, Nevada, New Hampshire, New Mexico, North Dakota, Ohio, Oklahoma, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, South Carolina, South Dakota, Tennessee, Texas, Utah, Vermont, West Virginia, Wisconsin, Wyoming.
As you can see, there is no why or wherefore to these lists. I hope that rectifying this becomes a priority.
Danny
************************************** Get a sneak peek of the all-new AOL at http://discover.aol.com/memed/aolcom30tour _______________________________________________ WikiEN-l mailing list WikiEN-l@lists.wikimedia.org To unsubscribe from this mailing list, visit: http://lists.wikimedia.org/mailman/listinfo/wikien-l
daniwo59@aol.com wrote:
There is a lot of talk about getting free alternatives to restricted Fair Use images, and how this is actually a priority of the Wikimedia Foundation.
That said, I want to point out one specific area where the Foundation is failing. The United States consists of 50 states, each of which has a state seal, but to date, only twenty of the state seal images are free, i.e., 60 percent are fair use images, when a free alternative should be easily available. In fact, what possible justification is there for using a fair use image?
In addition to the age factor, which has already been raised, there is also the applicability of the merger principle. This effectively says that when the thing itself and its representation are inseparably merged there can be no copyright.
Ec