[WikiEN-l] Getting rid of bad fair use

Sat May 20 16:29:23 UTC 2006

On 5/20/06, Fastfission <fastfission at gmail.com> wrote:
> Riiight... do you have a point in this argument anymore, or are you
> just doing it for sport?
>
I'll summarize my stance in this particular argument in case you can't
follow:  The statement that "fair use is a defense and not a right" is
the kind of confusing mumbo jumbo I'd expect to be spouted out by the
RIAA, not a Wikipedian.  Fair use is a fundamental right which is part
of the fundamental rights to free speech, free expression, free press,
etc.  While it is difficult for a person to get an advance court
ruling guaranteeing her right to fair use in a particular case, it is
often possible - in fact the recent passage of 17 USC 512(f) as part
of OCILLA provides a promising new avenue for fighting the chilling
effects of copyright threat over materials distributed online.

> Listen, I think it's a great idea to claim that we should all stand up
> and assert our fair use. Sounds great. But I'm not sure that's what
> WMF should do with its donations, and I'm not sure the O RLY? owl is
> the place to shed legal blood. There are copyright watchdogs out
> there, let them do that sort of work. We're trying to build a free
> encyclopedia here, last I checked, not serve as an anti-copyright
> activist network.
>
> FF

The other half of my argument is that Wikimedia should take advantage
of the OCILLA provisions when dealing with threats of lawsuits.  Ray
Saintonge expressed this view better than I have, and we seem to be in
agreement.  Refer to his recent emails in this thread for the details.

Anthony