Wikipedia:Media copyright questions: Difference between revisions

Media copyright questions
Shortcuts WP:CQ WP:MCQ WP:IMAGEHELP WP:ICHD Welcome to the Media Copyright Questions page, a place for help with image copyrights, tagging, non-free content, and related questions. For all other questions please see Wikipedia:Questions. How to add a copyright tag to an existing image On the description page of the image (the one whose name starts File:), click Edit this page. From the page Wikipedia:File copyright tags, choose the appropriate tag: For work you created yourself, use one of the ones listed under the heading "For image creators". For a work downloaded from the internet, please understand that the vast majority of images from the internet are not appropriate for use on Wikipedia. Exceptions include images from flickr that have an acceptable license, images that are in the public domain because of their age or because they were created by the United States federal government, or images used under a claim of fair use. If you do not know what you are doing, please post a link to the image here and ask BEFORE uploading it. For an image created by someone else who has licensed their image under an acceptable Creative Commons or other free license, or has released their image into the public domain, this permission must be documented. Please see Requesting copyright permission for more information. Type the name of the tag (e.g.; {{Cc-by-4.0}}), not forgetting {{ before and }} after, in the edit box on the image's description page. Remove any existing tag complaining that the image has no tag (for example, {{untagged}}) Hit Publish changes. If you still have questions, go on to "How to ask a question" below. How to ask a question To ask a new question hit the "Click here to start a new discussion" link below. Please sign your question by typing ~~~~ at the end. Check this page for updates, or request to be notified on your talk page. Don't include your email address, for your own privacy. We will respond here and cannot respond by email. Note for those replying to posted questions If a question clearly does not belong on this page, reply to it using the template {{mcq-wrong}} and, if possible, leave a note on the poster's talk page. For copyright issues relevant to Commons where questions arising cannot be answered locally, questions may be directed to Commons:Commons:Village pump/Copyright. If you have a question about a specific image, please be sure to link to it like this: [[:File:Example.jpg]]. (Please note the ":" just before the word File) Thanks!
Click here to start a new discussion

Archives

Archive list Archive year 2006 Closed Archive year 2007 Closed Archive year 2008 Closed Archive year 2009 Closed Archive year 2010 Closed Archive year 2011 Closed Archive year 2012 Closed Archive year 2013 Closed Archive year 2014 Closed Archive year 2015 Closed Archive year 2016 Closed Archive year 2017 Closed Archive year 2018 Closed Archive year 2019 Closed Archive year 2020 Closed Archive year 2021 Closed Archive year 2022 Closed Archive year 2023 Closed Archive year 2024 Open Some pre-2009 archives from pages now merged here (note: more recent questions from these pages can be found at WP:MCQ or its archives above.) Requested copyright examinations archives Can I use... 2005-2006 archive Can I use... January-August 2007 archive Can I use... August-December 2007 archive Wikipedia:Image copyright help desk/Archive 1 Wikipedia:Image copyright help desk/Archive 2 This page serves as a portal for Yearly archives, inside the archives are in month format, please see the Archives in the sidebox. Thanks.

This page has archives. Sections older than 14 days may be automatically archived by Lowercase sigmabot III.

HI, I am creating the wiki-page of a noted living artist, I am using images from his website, the images are owned by him and copyright of the photographer who is listed. What kind of copyright tag do I use? Thanks for your help, Best, Rodney RLaTou (talk) 14:00, 17 March 2023 (UTC)[reply]

The use of non-free content must meet all of the non-free content criteria. In the case of a living person, even if a free image does not currently exist, a free one could still be created. As such, the use of a non-free image in an article about a living person almost always fails to meet WP:NFCC#1, the criteria about replaceability. So it is very unlikely that the use of a non-free image for your article would be acceptable. -- Whpq (talk) 16:53, 17 March 2023 (UTC)[reply]

Hi RLaTou. Generally, the copyright holder of a photo is the person taking it, not the subject of the photo; however, if the photo is of someone else's copyrighted work, then there might be multiple copyrights involved: one for the photo and one for the photographed work. If, for example, you take a photo of this artist, you would be considered the copyright holder of that photo and you could upload it to Wikimedia Commons as your c:COM:Own work as explained in c:Commons:Licesning as long as you're willing to release the photo under a free license that Commons accepts. If the photo was taken by someone else, you can't upload the photo with getting the photographer's c:COM:CONSENT as explained here. If you take a photo of one of the artist's artworks, you would still own the copyright on the photo, but the artist would own the copyright on the artwork itself. In such a case, you couldn't upload your photo of the artwork to Commons without the artist's consent. Of course, whether the artwork is ever was eligible or is still eligible for copyright protection might depend on various factors (age of the work, where the work is installed, if the artist is deceased and how long ago they died, etc.), but generally it's best to assume the artwork is copyrighted at first and then work from there. In some cases, Wikipedia does allow photos of artwork to be uploaded locally as non-free content, but only when all the non-free content criteria mentioned above are met. Wikipedia, however, encourages us to try and keep non-free use a minimal as possible and not try and create a non-free image gallery of all the artist's artwork. Perhaps if there's one representative work that the artist is really known for that in its own right has received critical coverage in reliable sources because it illustrates the style the artist is known for, then that would be OK to upload as non-free content; however, a non-free image is not needed for each work mentioned in the article of each section of the article. -- Marchjuly (talk) 22:15, 17 March 2023 (UTC)[reply]

Thanks so much for your clarifications, that's super helpful!

I am creating an artist web page and have permission to use the photos from the artist's website. I will follow the links and continue as you suggest -

All the best

RLaTou RLaTou (talk) 09:02, 19 March 2023 (UTC)[reply]

Hi RLaTou. I'm not sure what you mean by I am creating an artist web page. Was your above question about uploading and adding images to An Te Liu? For reference, Wikipedia articles are not "artist's webpages" in any way, shape or form. Neither "An Te Liu" nor anyone connected to them has any editorial control over the content of any content written about An Te Lie on Wikipedia. Moreover, if you're editing on An Te Liu's behalf, you really shouldn't be directly editing or creating any such content yourself as well. If you're connected to An Te Liu in some personal or professional way, have been in contact with them or their representatives and have been making edits on their behalf, I strongly suggest you take a close look at Wikipedia:Conflict of interest and Wikipedia:Paid-contribution disclosure and make sure you familiarize yourself with relevant Wikipedia policies and guidelines regarding such editing. I've added some more information about this to your user talk page as well. -- Marchjuly (talk) 09:49, 19 March 2023 (UTC)[reply]

RLaTou, you uploaded these 3 files File:White Dwarf, 2012, An Te Liu.jpg, File:Title Deed, 2009, An Te Liu.jpg and File:Exhibition view, Mono No Ma, Gardiner Museum, Toronto, 2013.jpg as non free but with no permissions or licences. The artist's permission is required for any images of these works as is a freely licenced release of the photographer who took the specific images. Do these works still exist? In that case a new image can be created and released by someone else under a free licence we accept. ww2censor (talk) 12:13, 19 March 2023 (UTC)[reply]

Hi Marchjuly Thanks for your message. Yes, my mistake, wrong terminology, it is of course a Wikipidia entry not an artist web page. I had written many years ago about An Te Liu and more recently had noticed he did not have a Wikipedia entry - it is not a paid contribution on behalf of the artist. The images are from the artist's web site. Do I have to contact the artist to find out if the works exist and if he allows images of them to be published on Wikipedia? Is it required to get permission from both owner and photographer of images? Thanks, RLatou RLaTou (talk) 10:31, 20 March 2023 (UTC)[reply]

RLaTou, Absolutely, yes. As the uploader the onus is on you to obtain the appropriate permissions which are unfortunately not necessarily possible in every case. ww2censor (talk) 14:11, 20 March 2023 (UTC)[reply]

Thanks for the clarification Marchjuly, I am working on the permissions and hope to clarify all the images on the An Te Liu wikipage very soon. Best, Rodney RLaTou (talk) 09:09, 21 March 2023 (UTC)[reply]

Thanks very much for message and info. I am following up on the images in question. RLaTou (talk) 14:02, 22 March 2023 (UTC)[reply]

I fear you may not understand, if the artist waives their copyright on those pictures, they are allowing commercial re-use and exploitation of them across the planet. There is no such thing as "permission to use the image in Wikipedia alone". --Orange Mike | Talk 12:01, 1 April 2023 (UTC)[reply]

What are the rules for an image where it is in the public domain in its country of origin but it's still under copyright in the United States? Are there any special considerations, such as a non-free use rationale, or can it be used as a 100% public domain image? I'm looking specifically at File:Ghidorah The Three-Headed Monster Poster.webp. Thebiguglyalien (talk) 19:05, 24 March 2023 (UTC)[reply]

@Thebiguglyalien As the note on the file says to be hosted on Commons, the image has to be PD in the country of origin AND also PD in the US as that's where Commons is hosted. To be hosted on Wikipedia as a free content file the image only needs to be PD in the US. This file is of course the opposite and is PD in country of origin but not PD in the US. The only option in this case is to host the file on Wikipedia under the non-free content rules. As a matter of personal preference and this isn't obligatory, I note files that I upload as non-free content if they are PD in the country of origin. Nthep (talk) 19:17, 24 March 2023 (UTC)[reply]

@Thebiguglyalien: Looks to me like this is PD in the US because this poster seemingly wasn’t published in the US, and was published without a copyright notice – see Commons:Template:PD-1996. Nope, that’s wrong, sorry.Snowmanonahoe (talk) 17:16, 27 March 2023 (UTC)[reply]

I recently added some images to the ADX Florence page, in the Notable current inmates section. However, after some time, JJMC89 bot did this, and removed the images. I have since reviewed the Non-free content criteria at WP:NFCC, and have found that these images met all but one condition: I apparently forgot to add a rationale for the image addition.

If I add another rationale to all the image pages, on the lines of what can already be found at Richard Reid "Shoe Bomber".jpg, and then revert the changes made by the bot, will they be accepted?

Thanks in advance for your help.

Lorenzo Diana (talk) 21:21, 25 March 2023 (UTC)[reply]

Hi Lorenzo Diana. Adding non-free rationales would stop the bot, but it wouldn't necessarily make the way you intend to use those images non-free content use policy compliant per WP:JUSTONE. The bot is just checking to see whether there's a non-free rationale as required by WP:NFCC#10c; it's not checking any of the other WP:NFCCP that need to be assessed. In principal, non-free images to identify individual entries in list articles or list-like tables is almost never allowed for the reasons given in WP:NFLIST and WP:NFTABLES, and don't see any reason how that particular section would be an exception. In such cases, a link to the entry's Wikipedia article where the same image can be seen is pretty much considered an acceptable alternative to another use of the file. You can start a discussion about the files and how you want to use them at WP:FFD, but I think it's going to be hard to establish a consensus in favor of such non-free use. You can certainly disagree with my assessment, but you might want to ask for feedback from others at WT:NFCC before trying to re-add the files to that article.-- Marchjuly (talk) 23:52, 25 March 2023 (UTC)[reply]

Would like some input on whether File:Logo of the Nationalist Party (Malta).svg, File:Maltese People's Party Logo and Motto.svg, File:Communist Party of Malta logo.png, and File:Għarb l-Ewwel Logo.svg are simple enough per c:COM:TOO US for local use on Wikipedia. The TOO for Malta is unclear per c:COM:Malta, but it might be close to c:COM:TOO UK given Malta's historic ties to the UK. If it is, then I don't think these files can relicensed as {{PD-logo}} and moved to Commmons, but they might be OK to be convert from {{non-free logo}} to {{PD-ineligible-USonly}}. The Nationalist Party's logo is pretty simple with only the crown to worry about. The People's Party logo) is bascially text with two simple shape elements.The Communist Party's logo seems to be nothing more than imagery (e.g. hammer sickle, laurel wreath) commonly used by many communist party logos and said imagery might be PD in its own right. The last of the four (The Għarb l-Ewwel logo) actually has been uploaded to Commons and is currently being discussed at c:Commons:Deletion requests/File:Għarb l-Ewwel Logo.svg. If the opinion is that all or some of these files need to remain non-free, then their use in List of political parties in Malta would fail WP:NFLISTS and the files should be removed from that article. -- Marchjuly (talk) 01:41, 28 March 2023 (UTC)[reply]

File:Logo of the Nationalist Party (Malta).svg: Assume it's copyrightable. The crown is not a simple arrangement of geometric shapes but an actual picture.

File:Maltese People's Party Logo and Motto.svg: Change to PD-ineligible-USonly. The logo is just two P's with a slight degree of flourish.

File:Communist Party of Malta logo.png: The logo consists of timeless motifs but presumably draws them in a unique way. When does a drawing of wheat stalks or a hammer and sick become copyrightable?

File:Għarb l-Ewwel Logo.svg: It's geometric shapes, but the way they arrange to depict a castle is somewhat novel and creative. I'm personally uncertain, so would leave the license as is. The Quirky Kitty (talk) 20:39, 28 March 2023 (UTC)[reply]

Does simply including the shape of a country or region in a logo make it copyrightable? If I understand what I'm talking about, there's no creativity in simply depicting a geographical area. Relevant examples:

• File:Acadia Parish Schools logo.gif
• File:AdvanceArkansasInstitute.jpg
• File:All-Africa Games (logo).png

The Quirky Kitty (talk) 20:48, 28 March 2023 (UTC)[reply]

Could someone please determine what the copyright status of these files in their home country is? There's been a slow-motion edit war over it by several IPs. * Pppery * _{it has begun...} 22:54, 28 March 2023 (UTC)[reply]

Anyone know if we are able to use this image or a crop of at Thomas Reed (Alabama politician) Hiding T 13:07, 30 March 2023 (UTC)[reply]

Dated 1966, too young for public domain, and afaict the website wants to sell their pics, so I don't think so. Gråbergs Gråa Sång (talk) 15:20, 30 March 2023 (UTC)[reply]

@Hiding Sorry, I see now that the subject is dead. Yes, you can use it as leadimage non-free on WP, but isn't there a better one? Gråbergs Gråa Sång (talk) 15:42, 30 March 2023 (UTC)[reply]

I think this is better:[1]. Gråbergs Gråa Sång (talk) 15:43, 30 March 2023 (UTC)[reply]

Yes that's much better, thank you! Hiding T 15:49, 30 March 2023 (UTC)[reply]

Hi, thank you everyone ahead of time for taking a moment to help me out with this minor issue. I want to use some images taken at Clipperton Island for part of an expansion of the article. Since the island is in the middle of nowhere it's hard to find people who have gone out there and taken photos. I believe that an image like this would qualify under fair use but after re-reading all the guidelines (and coming off of a week of COVID) I'm not 100% sure and would really appreciate some guidance on this. Dr vulpes ^{(💬 • 📝)} 03:00, 31 March 2023 (UTC)[reply]

Dr vulpes, looking at the image you want to add and the images already in the article, my subjective view is that the new image doesn't add much, so IMO it fails WP:NFCCP#8. Gråbergs Gråa Sång (talk) 07:38, 31 March 2023 (UTC)[reply]

Yeah, I am afraid that the article isn't suffering from lacking such an image. And that per WP:NFCC#8 is an argument against having that image. Jo-Jo Eumerus (talk) 08:13, 31 March 2023 (UTC)[reply]

It's probably OK as fair use, but "fair use" and "non-free content use" aren't exactly the same when it comes to Wikipedia, and it's the latter that matters. Wikipedia's non-free content use policy was established to be more restrictive than fair use as explained in WP:NFC#Background, and I too don't think the non-free use of the image you want to use would be justified per relevant policy, and least not without knowing much more about how you intend to use the image and how you would justify it per WP:FREER and WP:NFC#CS. -- Marchjuly (talk) 08:36, 31 March 2023 (UTC)[reply]

Thanks everyone, I'll just have to get a little more creative with my search. Again thank you for your time and insight into this matter it really means a lot to me. Dr vulpes ^{(💬 • 📝)} 07:33, 1 April 2023 (UTC)[reply]

I need to add source for the existing image on my page and I am not able to edit the description of that existing image. What should I do? Pofw (talk) 08:14, 31 March 2023 (UTC)[reply]

@Pofw: Are you asking about File:Teaser poster for BB.jpg? That file currently is lacking information about its source and it's also lacking a non-free use rationale. You can resolve both of these issues by filling in and adding the template {{non-free use rationale poster}} to the file's page. However, non-free content can only be used in the article namespace per non-free content use criterion #9; this means you can't use the file in Draft:Bhagwan Bharose as explained in WP:DRAFTS#Preparing drafts. Once the draft has been approved as an article, you can re-add the file to the infobox. If the file ends up deleted before the draft is approved as an article, don't worry since it's not gone forever. It's only hidden from public view and can be restored by an administrator by posting a request at WP:REFUND. -- Marchjuly (talk) 08:46, 31 March 2023 (UTC)[reply]

Hi, the image I would use is public domain but I can't find it outside of publications. Does a screenshot and proper crediting is correct and/or what can I do ?

The Initial discussion on the "public domain" part can be seen on the talk page of O-Six where I detailed my question and tried to answer myself with great detail and giving examples. Please read Talk:O-Six#Picture_of_832F to follow my reasoning and current problem (placing the whole text/reasoning here wouldn't be ideal). Thank you for your time and comprehension. - Gimly24 (talk) 21:11, 1 April 2023 (UTC)[reply]

Answered and resolved Gimly24 (talk) 23:27, 1 April 2023 (UTC)[reply]