The EFF have made a statement -
http://www.eff.org/deeplinks/2009/07/eff-defends-wikipedi
They’re a US-based organization defending a US citizen so their defence is US-centric and risks implicitly recognizing the NPG’s excessive copyright claims, which wouldn’t be good for UK citizens. That’s regrettable but entirely understandable.
The excellent Francis Davey has blogged about the NPG’s database right claims -
http://www.francisdavey.co.uk/2009/08/national-portrait-gallery-is-there.html
It’s a considered and detailed discussion of the issues and well worth reading.