[WikiEN-l] Getting rid of bad fair use

Sat May 20 05:09:08 UTC 2006

Justin Cormack wrote:

>If the copyright holder objects then they might sue. Whether we win
>or not, its not worth our while wasting money on cases like this. We
>are trying to make a free encyclopaedia, so paying lawyers to defend
>our right to use non free stuff is against the aims of the Foundation.
>
Anybody might sue anybody else about anything; paranoia thrives by 
ignoring remote possibilities.  Before there is a legal suit there would 
be a DMCA takedown order.  There are technical requirements about what 
such an order MUST contain.  As long as Wikimedia is only an ISP it must 
take down the specified material, AND notify the person who uploaded 
it.  Until that point there are no legal expenses.  That's what a safe 
harbour is all about.  If the uploader objects he then has an 
opportunity to object to the takedown, and go to court at his own 
expense if he so desires.  The Foundation is not liable as long as it 
acts within the safe harbour.

There _may_ be other ways in which an offended party could begin a 
lawsuit, but none of them are realistic.  Maybe you should make an 
effort to understand what you are talking about before dreaming up any 
more uninformed nightmare scenarios.

>Dont get attached to fair use. Its not part of our mission. It will all
>be gone in a few years at the latest. Dont bother defending it.
>
The wonderful thing about the mailing list is that such wild 
pronouncements are not subject to our Verifiability rules.

Ec