SlimVirgin wrote:

On Sun, Mar 23, 2008 at 5:42 PM, Delirium delirium@hackish.org wrote:

...

This came up in the discussion, but since the German occupation during WW2 is considered illegitimate under international law, Polish law applies, even in areas where the de jure Polish government didn't have de facto control. The discussion is here:

http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/Commons:Deletion_requests/Category:Stroop_...

...

Does this mean that the images taken inside Auschwitz can be marked PD, either as PD in Poland or PD in the U.S. because seized enemy property? We've been told by several Wikipedians who specialize in images that we could only claim fair use for them, which has meant the images have been challenged quite a few times by people who say we can't claim fair use unless we know the name of the copyright holder. We've had several attempts to delete some of them on that basis.

Fair use does not depend on knowing the name of the copyright holder, or even the original copyright holder since that person may be long dead. Any prosecution for copyright infringement would require the copyright holder to be identified, and in most cases to prove that he is the holder. That would not be easy

I still prefer to avoid fair use if a stronger rationale is available. Ec ****** One hurdle is that Commons doesn't accept fair use rationales. Another is that Commons policy is to respect all relevant copyright laws. In the particular case of Stroop report photos, the discussion determined the following (as I understand it; please forgive any mistakes):

1. The photographs were taken in Poland. Its occupation status at the time isn't pertinent. What is pertinent is that Germany hadn't annexed Warsaw. 2. The photographer was anonymous. 3. The photographs were first published in Poland in 1947. 4. So under international law, German statues cannot apply to these photographs. 5. Under Polish law--the only applicable law--these images are public domain.

Please bear in mind that this is a peculiar set of circumstances that apply to one group of photographs.

Now I would really love if we returned to the main point of the post that inadvertently started this side discussion: that main point is that nonprofit organizations typically arrange a tasteful way to thank major donors without outright advertising. We ought to be looking into successful examples and seeing what might adapt well to Wikipedia.

-Durova