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FreeCulture.org - Students for Free Culture | 3 Aug 01:13

Freedom, fairness, and the Doha Round

Writes Frank Tobia on our blog:

Turning our attention now from the problems [HR 4137][1] raises for
college students at home, we see that our government is making life more
difficult for developing nations as well. There's been some talk lately
on the FC discussion list that we should broaden our focus on freedom to
include issues relevant to developing nations. This is my first attempt
to broach the issue.

The Doha Development Round of trade negotiations originated to directly
address issues of trade impeding the world's poorest nations. These
include intellectual property issues like access to patented medicine,
as well as other issues, like agricultural subsidies. Just last week,
talks at the Doha Round collapsed, leaving me to wonder how long it will
be until the United States starts doing what's right with regard to
these critical issues.

I rediscovered Doha by hanging around on [Wikipedia][2]: a few weeks ago
I noticed a bunch of work happening on the [Doha Round article][3]. I'm
a sucker for participatory culture after all. But check out the article.
See anything missing? I see a [dearth of images][4] that would be nice
if we rectified (the one image on there today was added just yesterday).
And look, the WTO is kind enough to make a [photo gallery][5] publicly
available. It would be so great if we could include those pictures on
Wikipedia.

So, Free Culturites, I have a call to action:

Email [publications <at> wto.org][6] and ask if they would be so kind as to
release some or all of their photos under a free copyright license
(Continue reading)

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Ringo Kamens | 3 Aug 01:22

Re: Freedom, fairness, and the Doha Round


FreeCulture.org - Students for Free Culture wrote:
> Writes Frank Tobia on our blog:
> 
> Turning our attention now from the problems [HR 4137][1] raises for
> college students at home, we see that our government is making life more
> difficult for developing nations as well. There's been some talk lately
> on the FC discussion list that we should broaden our focus on freedom to
> include issues relevant to developing nations. This is my first attempt
> to broach the issue.
> 
> The Doha Development Round of trade negotiations originated to directly
> address issues of trade impeding the world's poorest nations. These
> include intellectual property issues like access to patented medicine,
> as well as other issues, like agricultural subsidies. Just last week,
> talks at the Doha Round collapsed, leaving me to wonder how long it will
> be until the United States starts doing what's right with regard to
> these critical issues.
> 
> I rediscovered Doha by hanging around on [Wikipedia][2]: a few weeks ago
> I noticed a bunch of work happening on the [Doha Round article][3]. I'm
> a sucker for participatory culture after all. But check out the article.
> See anything missing? I see a [dearth of images][4] that would be nice
> if we rectified (the one image on there today was added just yesterday).
> And look, the WTO is kind enough to make a [photo gallery][5] publicly
> available. It would be so great if we could include those pictures on
> Wikipedia.
> 
> So, Free Culturites, I have a call to action:
>
(Continue reading)

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Parker Higgins | 3 Aug 04:07

Re: Freedom, fairness, and the Doha Round

Wikipedia prefers not to rely on fair use for things like that, and I think in this case "fair use" photos would probably just not be used at all.  (I know that in cases like album covers, where no alternative is possible, fair use is allowed.)

Further, I think it's important to get in the practice of contacting organizations like this and asking if they can release the photos.   One on hand, the worst you can get is no, and even that rain cloud has the silver lining of increased visibility for free licenses.  If, for example, it's too much trouble for them to release photos they already have under a free license, they can explore the option for subsequent photos.  On the other hand, though, many organizations are more than willing to "free" photos and other media, and just haven't been made aware of the tools and the need.

Parker

On Sat, Aug 2, 2008 at 4:22 PM, Ringo Kamens <2600denver <at> gmail.com> wrote:
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Hash: SHA1

FreeCulture.org - Students for Free Culture wrote:
> Writes Frank Tobia on our blog:
>
> Turning our attention now from the problems [HR 4137][1] raises for
> college students at home, we see that our government is making life more
> difficult for developing nations as well. There's been some talk lately
> on the FC discussion list that we should broaden our focus on freedom to
> include issues relevant to developing nations. This is my first attempt
> to broach the issue.
>
> The Doha Development Round of trade negotiations originated to directly
> address issues of trade impeding the world's poorest nations. These
> include intellectual property issues like access to patented medicine,
> as well as other issues, like agricultural subsidies. Just last week,
> talks at the Doha Round collapsed, leaving me to wonder how long it will
> be until the United States starts doing what's right with regard to
> these critical issues.
>
> I rediscovered Doha by hanging around on [Wikipedia][2]: a few weeks ago
> I noticed a bunch of work happening on the [Doha Round article][3]. I'm
> a sucker for participatory culture after all. But check out the article.
> See anything missing? I see a [dearth of images][4] that would be nice
> if we rectified (the one image on there today was added just yesterday).
> And look, the WTO is kind enough to make a [photo gallery][5] publicly
> available. It would be so great if we could include those pictures on
> Wikipedia.
>
> So, Free Culturites, I have a call to action:
>
> Email [publications <at> wto.org][6] and ask if they would be so kind as to
> release some or all of their photos under a free copyright license
> (something like [CC-BY][7] would be fantastic). After all, it's not like
> the WTO exists to make money off of its photo gallery somehow. Myself
> and a fellow editor are waiting to hear back from them, and I figure
> some support couldn't hurt.
>
> Oh, and if you feel like it, jump in and help improve the article. Long
> live participatory culture!
>
>    [1]: http://www.govtrack.us/congress/billtext.xpd?bill=h110-4137
>
>    [2]: http://en.wikipedia.org/
>
>    [3]: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Doha_Development_Round
>
>    [4]: http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Doha_Development_Round
> &oldid=229476744
>
>    [5]:
> http://www.wto.org/english/tratop_e/dda_e/meet08_photo_gallery_e.htm
>
>    [6]: mailto:publications <at> wto.org
>
>    [7]: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0/
>
> URL: http://freeculture.org/blog/2008/08/02/freedom-fairness-and-the-doha-round/
> _______________________________________________
> Discuss mailing list
> Discuss <at> freeculture.org
> http://freeculture.org/cgi-bin/mailman/listinfo/discuss
>
Well, if you're referencing the images in a news piece (like wikipedia)
then it would be covered under fair use.
CRK
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Ringo Kamens | 3 Aug 04:13

Re: Freedom, fairness, and the Doha Round


Parker Higgins wrote:
> Wikipedia prefers not to rely on fair use for things like that, and I
> think in this case "fair use" photos would probably just not be used at
> all.  (I know that in cases like album covers, where no alternative is
> possible, fair use is allowed.)
> 
> Further, I think it's important to get in the practice of contacting
> organizations like this and asking if they can release the photos.   One
> on hand, the worst you can get is no, and even that rain cloud has the
> silver lining of increased visibility for free licenses.  If, for
> example, it's too much trouble for them to release photos they already
> have under a free license, they can explore the option for subsequent
> photos.  On the other hand, though, many organizations are more than
> willing to "free" photos and other media, and just haven't been made
> aware of the tools and the need.
> 
> Parker
> 
> On Sat, Aug 2, 2008 at 4:22 PM, Ringo Kamens <2600denver <at> gmail.com
> <mailto:2600denver <at> gmail.com>> wrote:
> 
> FreeCulture.org - Students for Free Culture wrote:
>> Writes Frank Tobia on our blog:
> 
>> Turning our attention now from the problems [HR 4137][1] raises for
>> college students at home, we see that our government is making
> life more
>> difficult for developing nations as well. There's been some talk
> lately
>> on the FC discussion list that we should broaden our focus on
> freedom to
>> include issues relevant to developing nations. This is my first
> attempt
>> to broach the issue.
> 
>> The Doha Development Round of trade negotiations originated to
> directly
>> address issues of trade impeding the world's poorest nations. These
>> include intellectual property issues like access to patented medicine,
>> as well as other issues, like agricultural subsidies. Just last week,
>> talks at the Doha Round collapsed, leaving me to wonder how long
> it will
>> be until the United States starts doing what's right with regard to
>> these critical issues.
> 
>> I rediscovered Doha by hanging around on [Wikipedia][2]: a few
> weeks ago
>> I noticed a bunch of work happening on the [Doha Round
> article][3]. I'm
>> a sucker for participatory culture after all. But check out the
> article.
>> See anything missing? I see a [dearth of images][4] that would be nice
>> if we rectified (the one image on there today was added just
> yesterday).
>> And look, the WTO is kind enough to make a [photo gallery][5] publicly
>> available. It would be so great if we could include those pictures on
>> Wikipedia.
> 
>> So, Free Culturites, I have a call to action:
> 
>> Email [publications <at> wto.org <mailto:publications <at> wto.org>][6] and
> ask if they would be so kind as to
>> release some or all of their photos under a free copyright license
>> (something like [CC-BY][7] would be fantastic). After all, it's
> not like
>> the WTO exists to make money off of its photo gallery somehow. Myself
>> and a fellow editor are waiting to hear back from them, and I figure
>> some support couldn't hurt.
> 
>> Oh, and if you feel like it, jump in and help improve the article.
> Long
>> live participatory culture!
> 
>>    [1]: http://www.govtrack.us/congress/billtext.xpd?bill=h110-4137
> 
>>    [2]: http://en.wikipedia.org/
> 
>>    [3]: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Doha_Development_Round
> 
>>    [4]:
> http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Doha_Development_Round
>> &oldid=229476744
> 
>>    [5]:
>> http://www.wto.org/english/tratop_e/dda_e/meet08_photo_gallery_e.htm
> 
>>    [6]: mailto:publications <at> wto.org <mailto:publications <at> wto.org>
> 
>>    [7]: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0/
> 
>> URL:
> http://freeculture.org/blog/2008/08/02/freedom-fairness-and-the-doha-round/
>> _______________________________________________
>> Discuss mailing list
>> Discuss <at> freeculture.org <mailto:Discuss <at> freeculture.org>
>> http://freeculture.org/cgi-bin/mailman/listinfo/discuss
> 
> Well, if you're referencing the images in a news piece (like wikipedia)
> then it would be covered under fair use.
> CRK
I've sent this this email:
Dear WTO Publications,

I am doing some research on the WTO and I would like to use some of your
pictures. Do you have any available under the public domain or some
other type of alternative licensing? My work will be published under a
creative commons license, I need to make sure everything included in it
allows for it to be redistributed and built off.

Thanks!
Ringo Kamens
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Asheesh Laroia | 8 Aug 07:43

Re: Freedom, fairness, and the Doha Round

On Sat, 2 Aug 2008, Ringo Kamens wrote:

Ringo, interesting idea to send that email.

> Dear WTO Publications,
>
> I am doing some research on the WTO and I would like to use some of your
> pictures. Do you have any available under the public domain or some
> other type of alternative licensing? My work will be published under a
> creative commons license, I need to make sure everything included in it
> allows for it to be redistributed and built off.

Tiny nitpick:

I would suggest instead of "alternative licensing" using the term "public 
license."  That's consistent with the FSF's language ("General Public 
License") and CC's language ("Creative Commons Public License"; 
google.com/search?q=site:creativecommons.org+ccpl ).

No need to present these as "alternatives" when what we all want is global 
domination anyway. (-;

Nice to see a later follow-up encouraging the use of the images.

-- Asheesh.

--

-- 
Duct tape is like the force.  It has a light side, and a dark side, and
it holds the universe together ...
 		-- Carl Zwanzig
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Frank Tobia | 3 Aug 08:47

Re: Freedom, fairness, and the Doha Round



On Sat, Aug 2, 2008 at 7:07 PM, Parker Higgins <parkerhiggins <at> gmail.com> wrote:
Wikipedia prefers not to rely on fair use for things like that, and I think in this case "fair use" photos would probably just not be used at all.  (I know that in cases like album covers, where no alternative is possible, fair use is allowed.)

Good call Parker, that's a point I didn't mention.  Wikipedia's policy on images and fair use is basically "if it is at all conceivable that a free image of this subject could exist, then fair use images are not allowed". So articles about living persons always need free-licensed images (no fair use), whereas album covers, book covers, movie posters, etc. can't possibly have a free alternative, and so fair use is the only option.

-Frank

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