Marco Krohn wrote, quoting Axel Boldt:
"Illustrating an article by adding a photo creates a derivative work, therefore the whole has to be put under GFDL, therefore it cannot be fair use material (or anything besides public domain or GFDL)."
This is not valid reasoning. If accurate, then we can't even quote from copyrighted sources, not even one sentence of quotation, because all such use is done under a "fair use" doctrine.
Suppose we have an article about a book by Noam Chomsky. We wish to explain the thesis of the book, and toward that end, we quote a relevant sentence from the book. This is perfectly valid, and it is fair use.
What is the situation in German law? You seem to be arguing that there is no such thing as fair use in German law, but that strikes me as virtually impossible. Can you give the details?
By the way, I agree with those who say that (a) strictly speaking, German law is not of primary interest to us, but also with those who say that (b) if we can make sure that the encyclopedia is redistributable in Germany, too, that's a good thing, if it doesn't cost much in terms of content.
--Jimbo