koyaanisqatsi(a)nupedia.com wrote:
If I upload a picture and do not specify that I'm
releasing it into the public domain (and so release it implicitly under the GNU FDL
instead), can that picture be used only in works that are also GNU FDL? Or could it be
reused in traditional, copyrighted works such as newspapers?
What does the GNU FDL say about this, if anything? What constitutes the article? The
text? The image? The layout? All of the above? Some of the above?
This could theoretically fall under section 7:
(snippet from
http://www.gnu.org/copyleft/fdl.html)
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7. AGGREGATION WITH INDEPENDENT WORKS
A compilation of the Document or its derivatives with other separate and
independent documents or works, in or on a volume of a storage or
distribution medium, does not as a whole count as a Modified Version of
the Document, provided no compilation copyright is claimed for the
compilation. Such a compilation is called an "aggregate", and this
License does not apply to the other self-contained works thus compiled
with the Document, on account of their being thus compiled, if they are
not themselves derivative works of the Document.
If the Cover Text requirement of section 3 is applicable to these copies
of the Document, then if the Document is less than one quarter of the
entire aggregate, the Document's Cover Texts may be placed on covers
that surround only the Document within the aggregate. Otherwise they
must appear on covers around the whole aggregate.
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But, IANAIPL. Note that if they use it, they will have to include a GFDL
license notice and URL to a machine-readable version (see section 4).
Is there any way to release pictures for reuse only in
GNU FDL or GPL
works (and not in copyrighted works such as e.g. <i>The New York
Times</i>)? Yes, I'm serious about that.
Depends on how well the NYT can get away with claiming that your picture
or article is just one of many things in their collection of documents,
the rest of which happen to be under their copyright...
-- brion vibber (brion @
pobox.com)