[Wikipedia-l] file uploads

[Bryan Derksen]

At 11:28 PM 6/09/02 +0100, Derek Ross wrote:
>GIF is in itself a copyrighted, or rather a patented, file format.
>Therefore it is just as legally problematic to upload GIF images to the
>Wikipedia without permission from the patent-holder as it is to upload any
>other form of copyrighted material without the permission of the
>copyright-holder.

Actually, as far as I know, the only thing that the patent covers is gif 
_encoders._ Unisys (or whoever it is that currently holds the patent) has 
absolutely no right to individual gif _files;_ all they can do is sell 
licences to people that allow them to write programs that can produce gifs. 
You will find many pieces of free software which can open and view gifs but 
cannot _save_ gifs because of this.

And even if I write an unlicenced program that saves gifs, while the 
program _itself_ is illegal and cannot be distributed, the gifs it 
_produces_ are still solely the property of whoever made them. I could get 
sued for writing and distributing the program, but they can't touch the 
gifs I made with them.

So personally, I think allowing gifs on wikipedia should be just fine. It 
is entirely possible for a gif file to be public domain.


I am not a lawyer, of course. But I'm sure this question comes up over and 
over for many different projects, so I'm sure it should be possible to find 
a real lawyer's statement somewhere to confirm or refute this.

--
"Let there be light." - Last words of Bomb #20, "Dark Star"