Is Wikipedia Copyrighted?

[6charlong]

This has probably been discussed, but I can't find the answer. Does anyone know if we can copy Wikipedia content into an eBook edition? Many of the old books have interesting and useful information available on the Wikipedia page, that can help readers better understand a book, but is it allowed? or is there some formula to follow when quoting Wikipedia?

[Nate the great]

Look here:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:Copyrights
And here:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikiped...tation_License

[6charlong]

Originally Posted by Nate the great

Look here:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:Copyrights
And here:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikiped...tation_License

Hummmm. That's like trying to read a government manual. This links to that which goes to somewhere else, except when...

Is there an eBook posted that correctly incorporates Wikipedia material?

[DaleDe]

Originally Posted by 6charlong

Hummmm. That's like trying to read a government manual. This links to that which goes to somewhere else, except when...

Is there an eBook posted that correctly incorporates Wikipedia material?

Most of it is pretty straight GNU Copy Left stuff like many software packages. The formatted text is easy to copy and use in an eBook. The source files use a non-standard markup so you would need a way to read this format data to use it. There have been versions of the entire wikipedia formated for eBook use on some of the Palm programs that have exceptionally good compression.

Dale

[6charlong]

Originally Posted by DaleDe

Most of it is pretty straight GNU Copy Left stuff like many software packages. The formatted text is easy to copy and use in an eBook. The source files use a non-standard markup so you would need a way to read this format data to use it. There have been versions of the entire wikipedia formated for eBook use on some of the Palm programs that have exceptionally good compression.

Dale

Do they want me to copy the entire Copy Left text into an eBook that uses a Wikipedia article?

I'll do it willingly if I can just figure out how. I think that putting a Wikipedia article together with an eBook is necessary. Re-formatting Wikipedia articles to fit the different media is harder than formatting the books themselves, but including a scholarly take on these older books helps readers put them into a modern context: something that's necessary for people to understand their place in the culture. After all, the past really is "a foreign country" and all of the works that are out of copyright come to us from the past.

Thank you again for your help Dale.

Loyd

[DaleDe]

Originally Posted by 6charlong

Do they want me to copy the entire Copy Left text into an eBook that uses a Wikipedia article?

I'll do it willingly if I can just figure out how. I think that putting a Wikipedia article together with an eBook is necessary. Re-formatting Wikipedia articles to fit the different media is harder than formatting the books themselves, but including a scholarly take on these older books helps readers put them into a modern context: something that's necessary for people to understand their place in the culture. After all, the past really is "a foreign country" and all of the works that are out of copyright come to us from the past.

Thank you again for your help Dale.

Loyd

Check:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikiped...nd_obligations

In particular note the example text which is really just two links where people can find the original and the copyleft stuff.

Dale