[WikiEN-l] State seals and fair use

[daniwo59 at aol.com]

There is a lot of talk about getting free alternatives to restricted Fair  
Use images, and how this is actually a priority of the Wikimedia Foundation. 
 
That said, I want to point out one specific area where the Foundation is  
failing. The United States consists of 50 states, each of which has a state  
seal, but to date, only twenty of the state seal images are free, i.e., 60  
percent are fair use images, when a free alternative should be easily available.  In 
fact, what possible justification is there for using a fair use  image?
 
Free State Seal images are available for:
 
Alabama, Alaska, Arkansas, Florida Hawaii, Indiana, Illinois, Iowa,  
Kentucky, Maine Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, New Jersey, New  York, 
North Carolina, Oregon, Virginia, Washington State.
 
Fair use State Seal images are used for:
 
Arizona, California, Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, Georgia, Idaho,  
Kansas, Louisiana, Mississippi, Missouri, Montana, Nebraska, Nevada, New  Hampshire, 
New Mexico, North Dakota, Ohio, Oklahoma, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island,  South 
Carolina, South Dakota, Tennessee, Texas, Utah, Vermont, West Virginia,  
Wisconsin, Wyoming.
 
As you can see, there is no why or wherefore to these lists. I hope that  
rectifying this becomes a priority.
 
Danny



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