Wikitravel—a Cautionary Tale
by Miki Saxon
Established companies often lust after amateur web sites in which they see commercial value, but looks can be deceiving and due diligence is mandatory.
One thing due diligence should always keep in mind is the old saying, “if it sounds too good to be true it probably is.”
Obviously, Internet Brands forgot that when it purchased Wikitravel in 2005 with an eye to turning it into a paying proposition via ads.
There were some catches, however, that made for an unusual business proposition, starting with the fact that Internet Brands had not bought the exclusive right to the material on the site. The articles are governed by a Creative Commons license, which means they can be copied and republished by anyone as long as a mention is included of where the material came from.
Another catch: workers who do not expect a paycheck may find it easier to leave.
“Forking,” which refers to appropriating content licensed under Creative Content rules, is completely legal, but it’s a two-way street.
This idea paraphrases another old saying that applies, “what is legal for you to do is legal for others to do to you.”
Which is what happened a year later when the Italian and German contingents ‘forked’ the applicable content and created their own site.
Now the volunteers are in revolt, Wikimedia is involved and suites have been filed.
I’m no lawyer, but based on the article I’m not sure what legs Internet Brands has to stand on.
Lila I. Bailey, a former legal counsel for Creative Commons, the nonprofit organization that created the open copyright licenses employed by Wikitravel, said Internet Brands was in a tough spot.
Ms. Bailey, a teaching fellow at the University of California, Berkeley, law school, read both complaints and said Internet Brands faced “a community management problem” and had few options because the people involved were volunteers.
There’s a lesson here for all and it’s best said using another old adage: what’s sauce for the goose is sauce for the gander, too.
Flickr image credit: thadz
