[Wikipedia-l] Recent discussion on about text on wikipedia:policy that needs clarification

[Kurt Jansson]

> LDC replies to maveric:
>
> I'm sure it's just outdated.  From the discussions we've had about the
topic
> here and on the mailing list, it's clear that the intent is that Bomis
hold a
> collection copyright on Wikipedia as a whole, but that individual
articles
> are still copyrighted by their original author(s), who grant use of
them
> under the GFDL to Bomis and to the public.  Further, Bomis grants
license to
> use the collection under the GFDL as well.  Yes, there need to be
clearer
> statements of these legal positions here.  -- Lee Daniel Crocker

Why does "Bomis hold a collection copyright on Wikipedia as a whole"? I
think the contributors are the ones who form the collection (create the
hypertext structure, "place the links"). Where is the essential part
that Bomis adds to Wikipedia (in an ideal way - I don't mean the server
space)?

Don't get me wrong, I'm very thankful to Jimbo/the Bomis people for
making this possible. It's just something I don't understand (but I'm no
lawyer) - could someone explain this to me?

Bye,
Kurt

P.S.: I can hardly wait to have the German WP running under the PHP
script.