[WikiEN-l] Wikipedia Art dispute pits artists against Wikimedia Foundation

[Keith Old]

Folks,

Ars Technica reports:

http://arstechnica.com/tech-policy/news/2009/04/wikipedia-suit-could-put-it-on-the-wrong-side-of-fair-use.ars

Wikipedia uses plenty of copyrighted material and trademarks under the
doctrine of fair use. But a trademark infringement lawsuit against a couple
of artists would put the Wikimedia Foundation on the opposite side of the
fair use fight.

Two artists attempted to create a performance art piece by establishing a
Wikipedia entry entitled "Wikipedia Art," which could then be freely edited
and "transformed" by anyone choosing to do so. The page lasted a mere 15
hours before being summarily deleted by Wikipedia editors and admins. Now,
the pair's archive and continuing discussion of the project is being
threatened by the Wikimedia Foundation's legal counsel, which has
effectively threatened to pursue legal action against the artists for
trademark infringement.

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Regards


Keith