Jimmy Wales wrote:
I'm afraid that I don't really understand what you're saying. You seem to be saying two exactly opposite things. On the one hand, you say that we can't have a Foundation in Europe because if we do, it would be legally liable (for takedown notices and the like). On the other hand, you say that we need to have a Foundation in Europe so that it can take on that sort of legal liabilities.
Hm, i think Ulrich tried to say that if someone tries to sue the (german) Wikipedia because of e.g. copyright infringements, they would sue individuals at this point. Very likely that they will try to sue Wikipedia "sysops" like Kurt. So it is /our/ intention to found that "Verein" to withdraw their attention from individuals and that this "Verein" will (hopefully) be their first contact. But because there's no real connection (in law?) between the german "Verein" and the american Wikimedia Foundation they hopefully will not succeed.
It's just about protecting individual Wikipedians and having a contact address more reliable than a simple email link.
Sorry for any confusion i should cause with this posting ;-)
Regards, Nils.