[Foundation-l] commercial use of wikipedia content

Sun Dec 27 16:21:31 UTC 2009

On Sun, Dec 27, 2009 at 3:34 PM, Istvan Soos <istvan.soos at gmail.com> wrote:

> For the sake of example we would like to automatically convert the
> page content to a different text and different format (e.g.
> automatically create text extracts and compile it into a pdf document)
> and sell it as part of a subscription service or even better as a
> standalone product. We include all the attributions / links wherever
> possible, and mark that the source of the product is Wikipedia. What
> else are we required to do before the sell can happen?

You have to specify the license (CC-BY-SA) of the material.

> Is there any
> fee or percentage that shall go back to mediawiki foundation in such
> cases?

No, although it will of course be appreciated if you do so on a voluntary basis.

> Can we restrict the copy or re-distribution of such product?

No, there is the so-called virality of the license: You are allowed to
make derivative works or different versions of the product, but they
must also fall under the same license. You have to grant others the
same rights to your product that you have to Wikipedia material.

-- 
André Engels, andreengels at gmail.com