[WikiEN-l] Images that are PD in their country of origin

[Ray Saintonge]

Ian Woollard wrote:
> On 07/02/2010, Ray Saintonge wrote:
>   
>> In examining this one needs to distinguish between Wikipedia policy and
>> copyright law.  Wikipedia can establish its own policies, which largely,
>> but not exclusively, tend to be more stringent than copyright law.  In
>> that it can be authoritative; it chooses what level of risk to accept.
>>     
> My understanding is that the Wikipedia doesn't really have any risk
> under the law.
>
> Provided the strictures of the DMCA are followed, any uploaded
> copyrighted material simply has to be removed promptly if they receive
> a copyright violation notice. If the strictures of the DMCA aren't
> followed then the Wikipedia/media could be in big trouble.
>   
True enough, and none of us is supporting flagrantly infringing acts. 
But I don't think that Wikipedia gets many such take down orders. A most 
important requirement of those orders is that the claimant show that he 
has some legal interest in the material. If the claims could be made by 
third-party do-gooders a lot of people would be wasting a lot of time 
spinning their wheels.

Perhaps the risk is that such a notice might be received.  We often seem 
to be guided by a pervasive naïveté about such things; it's never so 
simple as drawing a go-to-jail card in a Monopoly game. There are 
numerous things that must happen before some acts can be penalized, and 
always opportunities to jump away before it all gets out of hand.

Ec