Dear Thomas Steindl,
Thank you very much for the reply. I have contacted Wolfgang Koch
regarding this matter as well, and have been checking with him the
possibility of using the images in Wikipedia. However, for an image to
be completely "free" (in the sense of freedom and not in the sense of
without cost), commercial reuse is a needed clause, because one of the
requirements is that anyone should be able to modify and redistribute
the modified versions, both commercial and non commercially. I
understand this is a rather complex issue, especially when talking
about copyright and licensing, however it is my belief that it is
possible for Napalm Records to release some promotional images under a
free license that allows commercial reuse while retaining copyright,
allowing Wikipedia (and the hundreds of mirrors currently available as
well) to improve the visual quality of articles related to bands
signed with Napalm Records. Every time a band does a concert or a
tour, a number of contributors and casual readers go to Wikipedia to
learn more about them, because there is usually information that is
not available in official sites (like similar bands, articles about
previous members, etc), and having images of the artists greatly
enhances the awareness of the readers regarding them. Since we only
accept "free" images, right now we can offer no image at all, or fan
made images (like concert pictures), which are usually blurry, out of
focus, cropped or from very far.
I hope I have explained the difference between the current promotional
images (that are free -without cost- but licensed only for non
commercial purposes), and the kind of free images Wikipedia needs
(images that are licensed in such a way that allows modification and
redistribution of both the original and the modifications, in both
commercial and non commercial terms, as long as they are correctly
attributed to Napalm Records as the copyright owner, and allowing
Napalm Records to take actions against anyone using them in a libelous
way, or in violation of personality rights, trademark restrictions,
etc).
Best regards,
Roberto Alfonso, Wikipedia editor and administrator
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/User:ReyBrujo
