Category:Fair use stamp images

To place a file in this category, add the tag {{Non-free stamp}} to the bottom of the file's description page. If you are not sure which category an image belongs to, consult the image copyright tag page. If this category is very large, please consider placing your image in a new or existing subcategory. Free images can be moved to the Wikimedia Commons.

As the template mentions, stamp images in this category should not be used solely as a cheap way to illustrate articles. In addition to the problem that images are often altered for artistic reasons and thus may not be factually accurate representations of their subject, Wikipedia:Fair use criteria does not allow for it.

In some cases, the issuance of a stamp is itself notable, and the stamp may be allowable in the article (for instance, if the issuance of the stamp was an overtly political act, with the design chosen for political purposes). For these images, the image description page must describe this as part of its fair use rationale, and the article(s) using the stamp must do so also.

Use of these images in philatelic articles is legitimate much of the time, but still must satisfy Wikipedia's nonfree content criteria. The image description pages should mention this also, ideally with links to the article(s), so as to facilitate future automated link checking. (As of March 2006, most will need to be added.)

It should be noted that some of these images, especially the older ones, may actually be in the public domain. We lack detailed information on government copyrights and expiration for many countries.