[Foundation-l] Copyright on Wikisource

Ray Saintonge saintonge at telus.net
Mon Mar 20 22:22:50 UTC 2006


SJ wrote:

>On Wed, 15 Mar 2006, Jimmy Wales wrote:
>  
>
>>Furthermore, our *goals* -- neverminding the legal problesm that
>>Jean-Christophe Chazalette wrote about -- our *goals* include a very
>>high degree of reusability.  Hosting materials that are subject to
>>copyright everywhere in the world except in the USA is a mistake on the
>>simple grounds that such work would not be redistributable anywhere else.
>>
>>This is why we should take a very very skeptical eye toward the use of
>>"fair use" even in English.
>>    
>>
>In counterpoint, Wikipedia is a prime example of the importance of fair 
>use as a catalyst for better information and education.  To the extent 
>that the world is still working out the 'right' way to allow commentary, 
>satire, and analysis while protecting author's rights, it is relevant that 
>Wikipedia takes advantage of fair use.  Changing policy to stop doing so 
>would likewise influence those ongoing "fair use standards" debates.
>
This is an interesting and important strategic point.  One can go 
overboard when it comes to being squeaky clean.  There is always a need 
to maintain a certain dynamic and avoiding interpretations of the law 
which our adversaries design solely for their own benefit.  Many 
copyright notices serve only to deter the ignorant.

Ec




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