Talk:Wikimedia Foundation/Legal/Wikimedia Server Location and Free Knowledge

Responsibility for (copyright) infringements

The Wikimedia Foundation Inc. Terms of Use ([1]) state that contributors or editors are legally responsible for all of the content they edit/upload. Users may not engage in activities like committing infringement (copyrights, trademarks, patents, or other proprietary rights under applicable law). From that perspective, international law allows that legal complaints based on possible (copyright) infringements can be brought for a court in the country or region the contributor lives or did upload/edit the content and local laws may be applicable.

The POV stated by the Wikimedia Foundation Legal Dept seems to follow the line that Wikimedia Foundation Inc (also?) is to be hold responible for (copyright) infringements and when their servers are being located only on US soil, only US laws are applicable. The Wikimedia Foundation does (therefore?) not encourage users to (mass-)delete content when they think it could be infringing. This POV seems to protect contributors and editors from litigations against them personally. That would be a good thing for all people creating content for the Wikimedia Foundation! Maybe the Terms of Use could be enhanced accordingly, clearing the legal situation for users.

By the way, the quoted 47 U.S. Code Section 230 has no effects on (1) criminal law, (2) intellectual property law and/or (3) State law.