On 23 June 2015 at 09:00, Petr Kadlec petr.kadlec@gmail.com wrote:
On Mon, Jun 22, 2015 at 9:27 PM, Michael Peel email@mikepeel.net wrote:
Under this new law, would images already uploaded to Commons under FOP actually have to be deleted? Surely the new law wouldn't apply retrospectively, but would just affect future uploads of photos?
Retroactively as in “you used this photograph three years ago, so pay us”? Obviously not. But “if you want to use this photograph you took three years ago in a book you are publishing next month, you have to pay us”? That is not retroactivity, that’s just not having a grandfather clause. (Which means continued public availability of these photographs on Commons without permission from the copyright holders author would fall under the new law.)
-- Petr Kadlec / Mormegil
This may be worth teasing out on Commons at https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/Commons:Village_pump/Copyright. The corollary would be that existing old public domain photographs would have to be deleted if they contain artworks fitting the criteria. However as the photographs are already published as public domain, changes in copyright acts are not *necessarily* retrospective. This would be an area I would expect us to seek independent legal advice on, before taking any action to remove images.
If anyone is assessing the size of impact, keep in mind it may be over-egging the case to automatically claim all past public domain images containing European artworks and architecture would have to be removed or redacted.
P.S. lots of ifs and buts behind this issue, it is highly hypothetical without seeing specific amendments to copyright acts being proposed.
Fae