[WikiEN-l] proposed policy change - allow *certain* CC-licensed images on Wikipedia...

[Robert Graham Merkel]

I wish to propose that images available under *some* of the Creative 
Commons licenses, that offer equivalent (or even more permissive) use
than the GNU FDL, be permitted to be used in Wikipedia.

The licenses are the:


By-attribution license:
* http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0/

The only requirement to use works create by this license is that you
must give the author credit.


The Attribution-ShareAlike license:
* http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/2.0/

Like the by-attribution license with the additional requirement that any
derivative works must be made available under the same terms as the
original work.

As I understand things, the consensus is that including these works in 
the Wikipedia doesn't present any legal problems, as combining works with 
different licenses is permitted under clause 7 of the FDL, the aggregation 
clause.

I also believe that the CC by-sa license is very similar in spirit to
the GPL and FDL, and the CC attribution license is even more permissive
than what we allow.  Therefore, philosophically, there is no reason not
to allow such images on the Wikipedia.

I know there are others who wish to allow images using some of the other 
CC licenses on to the Wikipedia.  While there are arguments on both
sides to that one, it's a seperate debate.

My motivation for this is simple: I am in negotiation with a body that
has a very large database of images that would be useful for the
Wikipedia, many of them unobtainable from any other source.  However,
the individual whom I am discussing this with is a little hesitant about
taking the GNU FDL to his bosses, as it is so hard to interpret.  This
will make it much harder to get permission.  Having a simpler,
easier-to-understand, and functionally equivalent license they can use would
make the task easier.  Others on the list have mentioned the same
problem.

What do you all think?

-- 
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                                           Robert Merkel
                                     robert.merkel at benambra.org
                                        http://benambra.org

The legislature's job is to write law. It's the executive branch's job
to interpret law.
  -- George W. Bush
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