[WikiEN-l] A very interesting recent "fair use" case ruling

Fri Jun 23 02:08:35 UTC 2006

On 6/22/06, Tim Starling <t.starling at physics.unimelb.edu.au> wrote:
> Yes, transformative use has long been a feature of fair use in the US.
> However, it's not a feature of fair use/dealing under English common law or
> the Berne Convention. Unless there is some amount of harmonisation, US law
> will remain largely irrelevant for Wikipedia. As I've repeatedly argued,
> Wikipedia should be freely redistributable throughout the world, not just in
> the US.

Right, guys, but that's another discussion entirely, and one which
we've had before and one which hasn't changed much since the last time
we talked about it.

I think people are missing the bigger points about this ruling that I
and Jamesday are trying to point out -- there are some major
implications for how we use fair use in this ruling, it is much more
specific to Wikipedia's situation than most of these fair use rulings
have been.

FF