Image:Christoph Meili 1997.jpg

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Christoph Meili holding two tomes of Nazi-era documents of the Swiss bank Schweizerische Bankgesellschaft (SBG, after a merger with the Schweizerischer Bankverein today part of UBS), photographed in 1997 by journalist Gisela Blau Guggenheim.

This image is in the public domain in Switzerland, where it was taken and also published first. It has been deemed by the Swiss Bundesgericht, the Supreme Court, to be not copyrightable due to a lack of creativity: it is ineligible for copyright because it does not pass the threshold of originality. It is the image the case Blau Guggenheim v. British Broadcasting Corporation BBC was about. (BGE 130 (2004) III S. 714-720).

Immediate image source: [1].

The copyright status of this image outside of Switzerland is unknown.

[edit] Fair use in Christoph Meili

This work is copyrighted and unlicensed. It does not fall into one of the blanket acceptable non-free content categories listed at Wikipedia:Non-free content#Images or Wikipedia:Non-free content#Audio clips. However, it is believed that the use of this work in the article "Christoph Meili" :

To illustrate the subject in question
Where no free equivalent is available or could be created that would adequately give the same information
On the English-language Wikipedia, hosted on servers in the United States by the non-profit Wikimedia Foundation ([2]),

qualifies as fair use under United States copyright law. Any other uses of this image, on Wikipedia or elsewhere, may be copyright infringement. See Wikipedia:Non-free content and Wikipedia:Copyrights.

To the uploader: this tag is not a sufficient claim of fair use. You must also include the source of the work, all available copyright information, and a detailed non-free use rationale.

Rationale

Purpose and character of the use: Photo of some historical significance of Mr. Meili, shot in connection with the only event that made him notable (for a while).
Nature of the copyrighted work: B/W frontal photograph, illuminated by a simple flash; deemed "not copyrightable" by the Swiss Federal Supreme Court. Arranged press photo related to the sole event that made Mr. Meili notable. Photo has been published previously on the WWW.
Amount used: The image is reproduced in full, but the JPG quality is low and unlikely to suffice for serious print publication. For instance, there are visible JPG artefacts at the shoulders and on the left side of the head, and the books' titles are not legible (whereas the court decision mentions that they were easily legible in the original).
Effect of the use on the potential market or value of the image: Mr. Meili isn't a news event anymore; it is considered unlikely that the photographer could still sell this image. Even if she could, it is considered unlikely that this low-quality reproduction could seriously affect the market value of the original.

[edit] Fair use in Copyright law of Switzerland

To illustrate the subject in question
Where no free equivalent is available or could be created that would adequately give the same information
On the English-language Wikipedia, hosted on servers in the United States by the non-profit Wikimedia Foundation ([3]),

Rationale

Purpose and character of the use: The photo was the subject of a notable court case in Switzerland, where it was decided that this image was not copyrightable in Switzerland. This court case is discussed in the article; showing the image involved is instrumental to the discussion because it would otherwise be completely unclear what that court case was about and why the court arrived at its decision.
Nature of the copyrighted work: see above.
Amount used: see above.
Effect of the use on the potential market or value of the image: see above.

File history

Click on a date/time to view the file as it appeared at that time.

	Date/Time	Dimensions	User	Comment
current	19:42, 2 April 2006	281×397 (45 KB)	Lupo (Talk \| contribs)	(Christoph Meili holding two tomes of Nazi-era documents of the Swiss bank ''Schweizerische Bankgesellschaft'' (SBG, after a merger with the ''Schweizerischer Bankverein'' today part of UBS), photographed in 1997 by journalist Gisela Bl)