On 1/29/07, geni geniice@gmail.com wrote:
On 1/29/07, The Cunctator cunctator@gmail.com wrote:
My attitude is that Wikipedia should be pushing the copyright envelope (within reason, of course) on all fronts.
And how much money do you plan to provide to make this possible?
All non-governmental content from the past century is covered by copyright (essentially).
That simply isn't the case.
We should also be demonstrating the importance of challenging the absurd life and strength of copyright laws by taking advantage of fair use when we can.
Your reasons do not support your actions here.
Google is a great example of a company that by dint of its popularity gets to run roughshod over copyright restrictions that companies would squash if they weren't so reliant on Google.
Evidences?
In any case the "no one will sue us" is not a valid argument for wikipedia if only because sooner or latter someone will and it doesn't help reusers.
Similarly Wikipedia is now in the position of being one of the 800-pound gorillas.
Annual turnover less than that of my nearest collage. I think not.
Wikipedia has the power to shape law because of its size and influence.
How? Political campaigning is pretty much out. We have neither the money nor the impact. People go to wikipedia looking for information. They are not looking for an ideology
Information being free... an encyclopedia, specifically, but the constituent flood of information ... is a core Wikimedia Foundation goal.
I don't think we should wage huge PR or legal or paid lobbying campaigns to free up information. I think we should reasonably take a stand that the Fair Use laws mean what they say, and that Wikipedia and others are entitled to make use of them, and do so.
Shying away from it destroys credibility in the single largest free access to content legal model in existence. Free content, including all of Wikipedia, pales in comparison to the significance to world society at large that Fair Use brings.
That may not be true in 10 or 20 years, but for now, we should embrace Fair Use and use it. Fairly, legally, and stomping on those who would attempt to abuse Fair Use in our project, but we should embrace it nonetheless.