Image License

Would it be possible to include images licensed under the GFDL?

That would allow us to copy loads of images from wikipedia (etc) e.g. en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Image:BjarneStroustrup.jpg

However the license terms require that the copy is licensed under the GFDL so it would require a change to the site to do this.

To be honest, I think people upload Wikipedia images already. Even I'm guilty of doing it when there has been no other option to chose from.

The GFDL has always confused me as I'm not used to legal documents or wording at the moment, so I'm not entirely sure how we would have to handle images under it (we only just sorted the matter of Wikipedia text!). The site probably needs some sort of statement on this kind of thing just incase a difficulty occurs in the future, but I really wouldn't know what.

Until then, I think most people will claim ignorance or fair use.

It's not ignorance, it's clearly 'fair use'. Uploading images of movie posters and actors and movie screen shots and directors and authors falls under these categories:

- does NOT hurt the business of sale of original movie posters
- does NOT hurt sales of movies, books, dvds
- in fact, it DOES the opposite; it promotes the movies, actors, books, etc, that are showcased

In fact, one major case from 2003 in the article tartanskirt linked to showed the defendant won when the issue of thumbnails and inline linking of images was concerned, so there is now precedent that it is considered fair use and not a copyright violation to showcase copyrighted images as well as make them into thumbnails.

Posting a full movie that is copyrighted, or posting full script of a movie, that could be considered a violation. But not images.

By claiming ignorance I meant that they a lot of people don't know enough about image licensing to decide on this kind of stuff, not stupidity. ;) Before I started on Wikipedia I didn't know what "fair use" was and I think that will be true for a lot of people.