[Wikipedia-l] file uploads
Bryan Derksen
bryan.derksen at ualberta.ca
Mon Jun 10 06:44:59 UTC 2002
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"
More information about the Wikipedia-l
mailing list