[WikiEN-l] Print encyclopedia and contracts...

Sun Feb 29 21:07:50 UTC 2004

On Sun, Feb 29, 2004 at 10:59:57AM -0800, wikien-l-request at Wikipedia.org wrote:
> Date: Sun, 29 Feb 2004 10:51:34 -0800 (PST)
> From: Geoff Burling <llywrch at agora.rdrop.com>
> Subject: Re: [WikiEN-l] Concise Print Wikipedia (WARNING)
> To: English Wikipedia <wikien-l at Wikipedia.org>
> Message-ID: <Pine.LNX.4.33.0402291044550.9514-100000 at joan.burling.com>
> Content-Type: TEXT/PLAIN; charset=US-ASCII
> 
> On Sat, 28 Feb 2004, zero 0000 wrote:
> >
> > I haven't really been paying attention, but it seems like the
> > possibility of a printed snapshot of Wikipedia is under discussion.
> >
> > I hope you are all very very VERY familiar with the disastrous
> > experiences of Eric Weisstein when he gave a publisher permission to
> > print a snapshot of his online mathematics encyclopedia.
> >
> > See  http://mathworld.wolfram.com/docs/legal.html .
> >
> My understanding of this case was that Weisstein thought he was selling
> the rights to only _ONE_ version of his online mathematics encyclopedia,
> when the lawyers at Chemical Rubber actually snuck language into his
> contract that enabled them to claim _ALL_ of his encyclopedia.
> 
> I assume that Jimbo, being a somewhat successful businessman, usually
> has any contract he considers signing reviewed first by a lawyer. In this
> case, I hope he picks a lawyer familiar with publishing law.
> 
> Twenty years ago, when I was considering a career in writing, I had the
> impression that publishers have an ethical standard higher than the music
> industry (where an artist can sell a million copies of an album, & still
> make less money than had she/he worked at McDonald's). I am no longer so
> sure of that impression.
> 

Jimbo is not in a position to mistakenly sell the exclusive rights to
the Wikipedia, due to the GNU FDL, which he chose when the project 
was initiated.

Unless there's some end run around its provisions...and in the unlikely
event that there is, we're in bigger trouble than one specific print 
proposal.

-- 
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                                           Robert Merkel
                                     robert.merkel at benambra.org
                                        http://benambra.org

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He's about to hit a chestnut tree.
 --The Simpsons
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