[Foundation-l] PD-art and official "position of the WMF"

Sat Aug 23 12:55:38 UTC 2008

Matthew Flaschen wrote:
> Supporters of broad use of PD-art outside of the U.S. have seized on a
> statement by Erik Möller that, "To put it plainly, WMF's position has
> always been that faithful reproductions of two-dimensional public domain
> works of art are public domain, and that claims to the contrary
> represent an assault on the very concept of a public domain." and called
> it the "position of the WMF"
> (http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/Commons:When_to_use_the_PD-Art_tag#The_position_of_the_WMF)
> and "The official position taken by the Wikimedia Foundation"
> (http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/Template:PD-art).
> 
> In my opinion, this is mistaken on many levels.  Regardless of his
> intentions, Erik Möller does not have the authority to speak for the
> WMF.  If the board does /intend/ to make this statement, a binding
> resolution would be a much better means.
> 
> This choice of interpretation involves deliberately ignoring the current
> legal climate in certain countries outside the U.S., and I believe that
> is a significant departure at Commons.
> 
> I am asking the board to step in and provide clarity on this issue in
> particular, and the ways they will and will not communicate their views
> on important issues in general.
> 
> Matt Flaschen

I have no special opinion regarding the PD-art issue.

I have no idea whether Erik has the authority to make such statement in 
the name of the WMF on commons wiki. I do not think it really matters 
because in the end, if a staff member makes a statement, and the ED and 
board are informed (eg, on this list), and neither the board nor the ED 
reacts, that either mean that
- Erik has that authority;
- or that means that they agree with Erik statement;
- or that means they have no idea/do not care and are happy to let Erik 
in charge of this issue.
Either way, Erik statement stands. And what matters is simply to make 
sure that ED and Board are aware of the statement (which is probably the 
case now as I expect ED and at least one board member read that list).

However, what bothers me a bit is that when the board is *asked* several 
times to step in, I expect the board to publicly react and say something.
I do not really care what they could say (option 1: Erik has that 
authority; option 2: board agrees with Erik; option 3: the board is 
happy to refer to Erik on such issues). But I expect a reaction.

Lack of reaction could imply
- that the board is not aware of the issue (---> if so, we need a mean 
to make sure the board hears community member)
- that the board has no idea how to react (---> if so, change the board)

Ant