The Federal Bureau of Investigation last month ordered Wikipedia to remove the official FBI seal from its Web site or face legal action.

The Federal Bureau of Investigation last month ordered Wikipedia to remove the official FBI seal from its Web site or face legal action.

Wikipedia is not authorized to use the FBI seal, but it appears on the Wikipedia entries for the FBI and the Seal of the FBI.

The seal is used to authenticate correspondence and actions from the agency and those wanting to use the seal must get permission from the FBI before doing so, David Larson, deputy general counsel for the FBI, wrote in a July 22 letter to Wikipedia that was posted online by The New York Times.

"The inclusion of a high-quality graphic of the FBI seal on Wikipedia is particularly problematic, because it facilitates both deliberate and unwitting violations of these restrictions by Wikipedia users," Larson wrote.

The Wikipedia page for the FBI seal notes that unauthorized use is subject to criminal prosecution, Larson noted.

Larson ordered Wikipedia to remove the seals from the site within two weeks. "Failure to comply may result in further legal action."

In a July 30 response, Mike Godwin, general counsel for the Wikimedia Foundation, said the FBI's request was idiosyncratic and incorrect.

"I hope you will agree that the adjective 'problematic,' even if it were truly applicable here, is not semantically identical to 'unlawful,'" Godwin wrote. "Even if it could be proved that someone, somewhere, found a way to use a Wikipedia article illustration to facilitate a fraudulent representation, that would not render the illustration itself unlawful under the statute."

The rules governing the use of the seal are intended to protect against "intent to deceive" or an "assertion of authority," Godwin wrote. Including the seal on Wikipedia does not do either, he said.

Godwin accused the FBI of providing Wikipedia with a version of the rules  known as Section 701  that omitted certain words to fit its argument. The full Section 701 rules bans the manufacturing, sale, or possession of a "badge, identification card, or other insignia" from a U.S. government agency. The FBI deleted "badge" and "identification card" in its letter, Godwin said.

"Badges and identification cards are physical manifestations that may be used by a possessor to invoke the authority of the federal government. An encyclopedia article is not," Godwin wrote. "The use of the image on Wikipedia is not for the purpose of deception or falsely to represent anyone as an agent of the federal government."

As a result, "we are compelled as a matter of law and principle to deny your demand for removal of the FBI Seal from Wikipedia and Wikimedia Commons," he concluded.

Godwin said Wikipedia is "prepared to argue our view in court."

Section 701 says that violations could include a fine or up to six months in jail.