[Foundation-l] Letter to Baidu and press release "Baidu Baike copies content from Wikipedia without attribution" draft

[Ray Saintonge]

On 04/24/11 9:35 AM, David Gerard wrote:
> Baidu Baike clearly have a considerable potential liability in terms
> of violation of copyright, including under Chinese law (assuming CC
> by-sa holds up).
>
> If they're traded on the stock market in Hong Kong (or anywhere else)
> - have they filed appropriate notices with the relevant financial
> oversight bodies noting this outstanding potential liability? If not,
> why not, and could they be in danger of penalties for not having done
> so?

Reading through this thread only reveals how thoroughly fucked up 
copyright law really is!  The Baidu situation does point to a prima 
facie case of copyright infringement and blatant plagiarism, but we can 
do no better than the inhabitants of Flatland after their world was 
struck by a three-dimensional object. In theory the writers of 
collaborative material have a right of action against the infringers, or 
against those who violate the moral right of attribution. In practical 
terms, if the owner can be identified the costs prosecuting violations 
on the other side of the world are so far out of proportion to any 
potential maximum penalty as to turn any such action into a fool's 
errand, even in a class action. Nevertheless, when we apply the law to 
ourselves it's with such exactitude that we put ourselves in an 
immediate disadvantage.

Ray