FBI Threatens Wikipedia With Legal Action: Remove the Seal from the Online Encyclopedia
Posted on 04. Aug, 2010 by dimaks in News
The Federal Bureau of Investigation or FBI threatens the online encyclopedia “Wikipedia” with legal action, should the latter refuse to remove the former’s seal in its online repository. The FBI says that it did not approve the use of the seal in the said educational portal and that posting a very high quality graphics of the insignia might result to deliberate copying and reprinting.
However, Wikipedia is firm on its ground. It will retain the seal. Seeing that the FBI is seemingly going out of its legal playing field, Wikimedia Foundation’s general counsel, Mike Godwin even wrote to the FBI saying;
In short, then, we are compelled as a matter of law and principle to deny your demand for removal of the FBI Seal from Wikipedia and Wikimedia Commons.
We are in contact with outside counsel in this matter, and we are prepared to argue our view in court.
On the issue that other entities may deliberately use the FBI seal, the Wikipedia says;
Even if it could be proved that someone, somewhere, found a way to use a Wikipedia article illustration to facilitate a fraudulent representation, that would not render the illustration itself unlawful under the statute.
The BoingBoing blog (http://www.boingboing.net/)Â also got a shot on this subject matter;
The part that’s hard to understand is why the FBI would seek to abuse the law in such petulant fashion,” he writes, “knowing that it will be subject to public ridicule for its actions.
Meanwhile, Cindy Cohn, from the Electronic Frontier Foundation (http://www.eff.org/about/staff) says that this issue is both ”silly” and “troubling.”
Source: FBI to Wikipedia: Remove our seal
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Dimaks is a part-time blogger born in Cotabato City, Southern Philippines. He loves a wide array of things: Martial arts, Scootering, Painting, Photography, Cooking and of course eating. Indulge with his blogging rounds!
