[Foundation-l] Fair use being badly abused on en.wikipedia

[Robert Rohde]

On Jan 7, 2008 10:51 AM, Mike Godwin <mnemonic at gmail.com> wrote:

>
> <snip>
>
  But I think we have to ask ourselves,
> every time we use content that has not been freely licensed, is this
> something we're ready to *pay* to go court over?
>
> <snip>
>


In blunt terms: Yes, it should be.

There are a variety of legal ambiguities that swirl around the Foundation
and its activities.  Not least of which are the reach of the safe harbor
provisions of the DMCA that we often argue WMF is entitled to.  Legal
precedents have value and help deter future suits.  If we truly believe that
the WMF is in the right, then we should be prepared to defend that for the
sake of establishing those precedents.  We don't want to be an organization
that earns a reputation for cowering whenever a law suit is threatened.
That would merely given undue power to our opponents.  And pre-emptively
cowering by systematically removing legitimate works that might draw bogus
lawsuits, is even worse.

Obviously, we don't want to press law suits when we are in the wrong, but we
also shouldn't be shying away from legally permissible fair use simply
because we are afraid that every so often there will be a fight over it.  I
am oft-reminded that man has only those freedoms that he is prepared
defend.  Well, fair use is one of those freedoms, and in such circumstances
that invoking fair use is a necessary and justified means of improving
Wikipedia/Wikimedia, we should be willing to defend that right.

As for being financially positioned to fight such suits, I don't think
that's even an issue.  Fighting abusive legal threats when you believe you
are in the right (which I assume are the only form that we'd fight
aggressively for) make for good public relations and is a cause that I would
donate to, and I have to assume many others would to.  Should it come to
that, I think the "Wikipedia Legal Defense Fund" is much more effective
fundraising tool than any of the gimmicks we've tried lately.

-Robert A. Rohde