[WikiEN-l] Confirmations of permission

Thu Sep 1 07:06:55 UTC 2005

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Ray Saintonge wrote:
> Andrew Gray wrote:
> 
>> On 31/08/05, Michael Turley <michael.turley at gmail.com> wrote:
>>  
>>
>>> When such permissions are explicited granted to the Wikimedia
>>> Foundation,
>>> they should be forwarded to an officer of the foundation in any case. I
>>> don't know enough about the Wikimedia Foundation to tell you who that
>>> is (or
>>> as indicated above, whether such person exists at this time).
>>>   
>>
>> I was just about to suggest that... have an email address at the
>> foundation to serve as a drop-box for this sort of permissions mail,
>> so we have a central record of it. This avoids there being a problem
>> if the requesting editor vanishes/falls under a bus/storms off in a
>> huff/loses all their mail, but preserves privacy in that unless
>> there's a pressing need to confirm the license no-one needs to have
>> access to it.
>>
> The requesting editor is only doing a job; the net results of a request
> should remain independent of him. What happens to the copyright owner is
> far more relevant.  If a copyright owner drops dead to-day his work will
> be protected until Dec. 31, 2075.  His as yet unborn grandchildren won't
> even know about the licence on grandpa's writings.  If they choose to
> dispute our use of his writings, proving that we have been licensed will
> be our burden.  A simple note from a long gone editor will prove
> nothing.  Even an e-mail record from the author may not be enough.  We
> have no way of knowing or proving whether an electronic permission is in
> fact from a person who is authorized to give that licence.
> 

*cough* Digital signatures *cough*

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