From: "Jimmy Wales" jwales@bomis.com Sent: Wednesday, August 20, 2003 8:43 AM
I know you're looking for a simple "yes" or "no" answer, but unfortunately, there isn't one.
A minor problem I have with fair use here is there is no way for sure to know when someone invokes fair use. Unless they state where the quote comes from or acknowledge it is copied under fair use it is hard to know. This makes it difficult to redistribute anything under Wikipedia IMHO. If there were a clear fair use log linked to each page that would be a way to make contributors more compliant. I know we are asked to mention fair use, but something like a check box (like on the upload page) for that or public domain stuff (with a link to the origin if it is posted elsewherre on the net) or some other attribution info which is what the due dilligence people need. Anyone who republishes Wikipedia stuff has a heavy burden to do their due dilligence to be certain they are not violating any third party copyright. While Wikipedia volunteers try to make sure their are no copyright violations, I am not sure that such a system is foolproof.
Also, in most foreign countries it is called fair dealing and it is not exactly like fair use, this makes it even more complex if someone wants to use the material outside the good ol'USA. Alex756