Wikipedia:Media copyright questions

Media copyright questions
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.
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(For help, see Wikipedia:Purge)

File:Marc Anthony Collection.png

Is this logo eligible for copyrights? I see an "M" handwritten. --George Ho (talk) 01:47, 16 November 2012 (UTC)

It does not appear to be eligible for copyrights. See File:NY Arrows logo.png. --Odie5533 (talk) 05:21, 16 November 2012 (UTC)

I believe the M-like scribble would be treated as a signature which is not copyrightable in the United States. (It wouldn't be copyrightable if it wasn't a signature either). Ryan Vesey 18:18, 16 November 2012 (UTC)

File:Logo gvb.png & File:Nederlandse spoorwegen logo.svg

File:Logo gvb.png

File:Nederlandse spoorwegen logo.svg

Are these simple enough to qualify as {{PD-textlogo}} rather than {{Non-free logo}}? Useddenim (talk) 01:42, 17 November 2012 (UTC)

I wouldn't call them ineligible in the Netherlands, the source country, as COM:TOO does not have the Netherlands section. Therefore, they are treated as non-free, so I prevented the image from appearing here. Nevertheless, I added {{PD-ineligible-USonly}} because these designs are not original enough to be copyrighted in the United States, just in case. --George Ho (talk) 04:36, 17 November 2012 (UTC)

So, is it necessary to have both {{Non-free logo}} and {{PD-ineligible-USonly}} on the two, or is just the latter sufficient? Useddenim (talk) 09:28, 17 November 2012 (UTC)

Either way is fine, but I would recommend using both, just in case that events may affect one work, like court case or new law. One time, the URAA is still intact, and Commons was close to deleting ALL non-U.S. images. --George Ho (talk) 13:37, 17 November 2012 (UTC)

And another one that may be over-protected

File:Sfmta_logo.png

Useddenim (talk) 09:45, 17 November 2012 (UTC)

If it is tagged as non-free, per WP:NFCC, this image cannot be used outside. Also, we will treat this image as non-free until someone confirms that this logo is not eligible for copyrights. --George Ho (talk) 13:42, 17 November 2012 (UTC)

File:Checkmark.png

So, I filed a PUF here about File:Checkmark.png and the main question is whether it would apply under {{PD-shape}}. I don't think so, but it closed with no consensus so I'm not sure. The current perms seem shady at best, so I'd like someone to check this out for me. Thanks, Nathan2055^{talk - contribs} 17:49, 17 November 2012 (UTC)

You may recall that I was the one who closed as no consensus. I know what I would have done if it were up to me (the file would be gone), but I couldn't read a consensus out of that discussion. Lacking the consensus to delete, however, I've gotten rid of the largest use of the file, which was in Template:WikiProject Articles for creation, replacing it with a similar image. That removes like 99% of the usage of this file.

Lacking consensus to delete here, I would recommend moving this file to Commons, despite the doubts about the copyright status. Obviously, this image would never be allowed on here if it were nonfree, and so the idea is to let Commons deal with it, since if it's found to be not free, the only option is deletion. And if it gets deleted from Commons, so be it. SchuminWeb (Talk) 06:47, 18 November 2012 (UTC)

And so after sleeping on it, I changed my mind, and the file is up for deletion again, this time in FFD. My thought on it is that if the copyright status is an issue, we should just dump it, since we have plenty of other green checkmarks to pick from. SchuminWeb (Talk) 17:35, 18 November 2012 (UTC)

I agree with you, and I wish the discussion at PUF had been noticed more. I've voiced my opinion over at FFD to delete it. I'm also a developer at AfC, and that's actually where I found this. --Nathan2055^{talk - contribs} 19:30, 18 November 2012 (UTC)

A single Rachel Maddow show as Copyright Violation on Frank L. VanderSloot

Please address a possible copyright violation at the above article on the Notice Board at Wikipedia:Reliable_sources/Noticeboard#A_single_Rachel_Maddow_show_as_RS_on_Frank_L._VanderSloot. Thank you. GeorgeLouis (talk) 23:31, 17 November 2012 (UTC)

Neither page contains media; so there is no media copyright issue. —teb728 t c 00:42, 18 November 2012 (UTC)

Canada's government copyright

Hi, I'm new to Wikipedia and I'm fan of television series Glee and would love to upload this picture of actor Cory Monteith with Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper. Can anybody help me with the copyright? I'm from the States and don't know of Canadian copyrights. What are the procedures? Thank you! Keeiither (talk) 17:59, 18 November 2012 (UTC)

According to this Canadian photos are generally copyright for 50 years pma unless they were taken before I January 1949 or are covered by Crown Copyright which subsists for 50 years. You are out of luck as there is nothing to show it is a freely licenced image nor is there anything specifically special about the photo that could not be described in prose. If you can persuade the copyright holder, who may actually be the photographer, to release the image under a free licence then we could use it but our OTRS Team would need to receive confirmation of their WP:CONSENT. You may find it useful to read my image copyright information page to understand some of the issues better. ww2censor (talk) 18:18, 18 November 2012 (UTC)

File:Main Building and extention of "Firma Gustav Baumhoefer".jpg

This photo by me should be free for all uses, hiwever it is tagged that it is not licensed by me. I do not find my way around were I caan license this image. Any advise would be appreicated.

Shabib01 — Preceding unsigned comment added by Shabib01 (talk • contribs) 18:40, 18 November 2012 (UTC)

Please have a look at Wikipedia:File copyright tags/Free licenses, pick one of the license templates from Creative Commons, Free Arts License or GNU, and insert the desired {{ }} template at the image's page below the description. You may also complete waive your copyrights and use {{PD-user}}. De728631 (talk) 19:40, 18 November 2012 (UTC)

Copyright infringement

Can I make tribute art about a sports team with like dates of their championships or super bowl victory's without using their team logo just their names like The Dallas Cowboys or New York Yankees with a photo of their most famous player or stadium or a drawing of the player. Would I have a problem with that? or do I need permission from the team or leagues?. — Preceding unsigned comment added by 72.201.217.82 (talk) 07:33, 19 November 2012 (UTC)

While individual names that are simple would likely not be a problems if they could be considered to not have a copyright due to a low threshold of originality would be ok but any names based on complex logos and any images that are copyright would be a problem unless all elements are freely licenced. Anything you use that is copyright would need the permission of the copyright holder. ww2censor (talk) 21:29, 19 November 2012 (UTC)

Ticket stub

I own a ticket stub for a tennis tournament held in 1969 (Wembley tournament). Can a scan of this be used to illustrate the tournament article? --Wolbo (talk) 14:22, 19 November 2012 (UTC)

Licence for Google Translate audio file

Hello. I want to add an audio file from Google Translate for the prononciation of a few words. What copyright should I use when I'll post it ? (I'm searching for a good licence for Wikipedia, like "no commercial use" or something if there is. I can't find Google Translate TOS). Thank you. --Tigrul Alb^Mesaje 16:17, 19 November 2012 (UTC)

It's a pretty safe bet that such an audio file is Google's copyright and should not be uploaded to Wikipedia (just like Google Maps images). It would be preferable to record your own audio file and upload it to Commons under a free licence.--ukexpat (talk) 20:38, 19 November 2012 (UTC)

Floor plan

I am interested in creating an image of a building's floor plan, based off of this image. What copyrights exist on floor plans? The building was built in 1908, and it was designed by Paul Humphrey Macneil (1883–1964) [1]. Chris857 (talk) 20:13, 19 November 2012 (UTC)

How about?

If you send messages about image copyright information... Don't.

Example:

Thanks for uploading File:Longevity Escape Velocity.png. You don't seem to have said where the image came from, who created it, or what the copyright status is. We require this information to verify that the image is legally usable on Wikipedia, and because most image licenses require giving credit to the image's creator.

To add this information, click on this link, then click the "Edit" tab at the top of the page and add the information to the image's description. If you need help, post your question on Wikipedia:Media copyright questions.

For more information on using images, see the following pages:

   Wikipedia:Image use policy
   Wikipedia:Image copyright tags

Thank you for your cooperation. --ImageTaggingBot (talk) 03:05, 20 November 2012 (UTC)

"We" *require* this information...?

Who is "We", and where's the reference link to such a "requirement", Mr. Online-censorship-opposed Joke bloke? — Preceding unsigned comment added by Zedatik (talk • contribs) 03:22, 20 November 2012 (UTC)

We is the Wikipedia community. And the reference link to the requirement is Wikipedia:Image use policy which was provided in the message left on your talk page. Do you have any other questions? VernoWhitney (talk) 17:25, 20 November 2012 (UTC)

:File:John Lescroart.jpg

My image was loaded to this site without my permission, and the person doing so said they had right and said it was released into public domain. They, Sacramento Magazine, only had rights to use the image editorially, not the full copyright, and thus NO right to release it into public domain.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:John_Lescroart.jpg#file

How do I remove this image from wikipedia's database? — Preceding unsigned comment added by Daveadamsphotography (talk • contribs) 18:01, 20 November 2012 (UTC)

I've tagged it for deletion as a copyright violation. An admin should be along soon to delete. Thank you for bringing it to our attention. VernoWhitney (talk) 18:07, 20 November 2012 (UTC)

photo copyright query...

I uploaded a photo for a page I created a month or so ago -- Jon Cohen (entrepreneur). The photo was taken by an employee of the company (Cornerstone Agency) whose job was to take photos like the one I used. When I uploaded it I vouched that it was the property of Cornerstone. I don't understand what further information I need to provide (see below message from Wikimail) Any help or clarification you could offer would be much appreciated!! Cklenfner (talk) 19:40, 20 November 2012 (UTC)CklenfnerCklenfner (talk) 19:40, 20 November 2012 (UTC)

<message redacted for readability -- viewable at User talk:Cklenfner>

With regards to File:Jon Cohen (entrepreneur).jpg there are a number of issues. The first is that we need to know who the actual copyright holder is. This is generally the photographer and not the subject, unless the copyright has been transferred by some legal contract. Next we need a message from the copyright holder telling us which free license they are releasing the image under. WP:CONSENT provides a template which covers all of the information we require as well as which email address for the copyright holder to send it to. Does that help clear things up some? VernoWhitney (talk) 20:27, 20 November 2012 (UTC)

Some athletic logos - copyrightable?

• File:Alcorn.png
• File:GramblingStateTigers.png
• File:MVSU Wordmark.jpeg

I think I've just been staring at logos for too long, but any chance I can get some feedback as to which if any of these three logos are creative enough to be non-free as opposed to {{PD-textlogo}} or the like? VernoWhitney (talk) 20:45, 20 November 2012 (UTC)

• Boy, I'd say GramblingStateTigers is free for sure, Alcorn is probably free (it wouldn't be PD if it was from the UK), File:MVSU Wordmark.jpeg easily passes the threshold of originality, I'd call it non-free. Ryan Vesey 20:50, 20 November 2012 (UTC)

• Agree on above assessment. --MASEM (t) 20:52, 20 November 2012 (UTC)

• • (edit conflict) I moved the middle one to Commons since it's a rather obvious one. No need to change any licensing on Wikipedia: it'll probably be deleted as F8 soon anyway. The other ones look more complex than the examples at Commons:COM:TOO#United States, so they are more dubious, I'd say. --Stefan2 (talk) 20:52, 20 November 2012 (UTC)

Thanks all. On second review I agree, Alcorn is borderline so it stays non-free to be on the safeside, and if there's an objection to me retagging the Wordmark as non-free it'll just go through PUF. Cheers. VernoWhitney (talk) 23:29, 21 November 2012 (UTC)

MORE ABOUT A SPYROGERA

WHAT ARE SPYROGERA ? — Preceding unsigned comment added by 196.0.7.2 (talk) 14:45, 21 November 2012 (UTC)

Wrong place to ask, but do you mean Spyro Gyra?--ukexpat (talk) 16:11, 21 November 2012 (UTC)

How to tell if image is in public domain

Because I cannot find an obviously-free image of the old fountain of Cambridge Market Square, I think this image illustrates it well:

http://www.british-towns.net/england/eastern/cambridgeshire/cambridge/cambridge/album/cambridge-market-hill

but I cannot tell if it's still under copyright. As I understand, under UK law, it becomes public domain 70 years after the death of the creator, but if he/she is anonymous, it's 70 years after the image's creation (1999 as the website lists that as 1929). Is that correct?

Without too much effort, how can a layman tell who the author is and when he/she died, or if he/she can be considered anonymous?

Thanks, cmɢʟee☎✉ 19:44, 21 November 2012 (UTC)

if the old fountain no longer exists, you can make a fair use claim. -- TRPoD aka The Red Pen of Doom 19:53, 21 November 2012 (UTC)

Smile-detection photographs

As far as I understand, the creator of a photograph is the person who triggers its capture, even if the camera belongs to someone else.

If I have a camera with smile-detection which triggers the shutter only when everyone is smiling, that implies that the last person to smile is the creator. How does one then prove which person smiled last?

cmɢʟee☎✉ 19:58, 21 November 2012 (UTC)

You're getting into questions of copyright law, and we don't give legal guidance, and I am not a lawyer; but I would argue that the photographer in the case of any such programmed equipment is the person who set up the program for this shot, the one who made the settings and set the parameters under which the shutter release is triggered. --Orange Mike | Talk 20:08, 21 November 2012 (UTC)

Oh wow, for a second I thought you were arguing the programmer was the owner.--SPhilbrick(Talk) 19:04, 22 November 2012 (UTC)

Changing "non-free" media status

I have uploaded an image and apparently I stated that it was "non-free" when in fact it is free - how do I change the status for the image? AlexAndrews (talk) 09:43, 22 November 2012 (UTC)

This is about File:Plan of Trinity College, Oxford Grounds.jpg, right? You said there that Alastair Johnson of Trinity College granted permission for the image's use in the Wikipedia article. If he granted permission only for use in Wikipedia, that is not enough. Since Wikipedia has a goal of producing reusable content, we require a free license, which allows reuse by anyone for anything. If he granted that such a free license, see WP:COPYREQ for how to handle it.

If he did grant such a free license, you can modify the file description page, changing the non-free tag to the free license tag for the specific license he granted, and replacing the non-free use rationale with an information block. —teb728 t c 23:23, 22 November 2012 (UTC)

Copyright status of graphs

I would like to write a Wikipedia article called "Ideological Leanings of the Supreme Court of the United States". In that article, I plan to reference the work of many scholars who have been calculating the ideological lean of the justices. This is a field of study that has grown enormously in the last decade and produced some very solid information. The scholarship includes:

Andrew D. Martin and Kevin M. Quinn. 2002. "Dynamic Ideal Point Estimation via Markov Chain Monte Carlo for the U.S. Supreme Court, 1953-1999." Political Analysis. 10:134-153. http://adm.wustl.edu/media/pdfs/pa02.pdf http://mqscores.wustl.edu/media/pa02.pdf

"Measuring Court Preferences, 1950 - 2011: Agendas, Polarity and Heterogeneity," by Michael A. Bailey�, Department of Government and Public Policy Institute, Georgetown University, August, 2012 http://www9.georgetown.edu/faculty/baileyma/CourtPref_July2012.pdf

As part of this article, I would like to include graphs I have created in Excel of the data produced by Martin & Quinn and Bailey showing the change in ideological position of each justice over time. The graphs I have prepared are colorful, with one color for each of the Supreme Court justice seats, and showing the complex evolution of the Court over time (Martin & Quinn: terms beginning in September from 1937 to 2011; Bailey: calendar years from 1950 to 2011).

The data is publicly available and easily downloadable:

Martin and Quinn: http://mqscores.wustl.edu/measures.php Bailey: http://www9.georgetown.edu/faculty/baileyma/Data/Data_Measuring1950to2011_June2012.htm

The Martin and Quinn data has already been displayed in one form in the New York Times:

"Supreme Court May Be Most Conservative in Modern History," by Nate Silver, FiveThirtyEight, New York Times, March 29, 2012. http://fivethirtyeight.blogs.nytimes.com/2012/03/29/supreme-court-may-be-most-conservative-in-modern-history/

I have several questions about doing this:

1. Is it ok for me to upload these graphs to Wikipedia? I have created the graphs and I'm happy to make them be public domain. But the data was created by these researchers and reflects their hard work. I will, of course, include a statement that says "Source data: " with their names and a link to the data so it is clear who created it.

2. Do I need to get permission from Martin & Quinn and Bailey before I do this? Or can I proceed without permission? I could send them a courtesy note afterwards (so they would understand if they got inquiries and so they could alert me as they update the data).

Please let me know if this is legally permissible and also what the etiquette is in such a situation. I would like to make this data widely accessible, but I don't want to offend anyone or do anything illegal.

Randy Schutt (talk) 17:42, 22 November 2012 (UTC)

uploading an image

I'm really confused about uploading an image to Wikipedia. I am trying to find an image to upload for a page I created for Solomon Asch, and they seem to be copyrighted when I just search on google for it. Can I e-mail the owner of the image and ask to use their image? It really doesn't matter what image it is. I just want some type of image with the article. What is the best way to go about this?

— Preceding unsigned comment added by Marissa1230 (talk • contribs) 05:23, 24 November 2012 (UTC)

Most images you find on the internet will be copyright to someone, so you can't use them. If you can determine who the copyright holder of an image is, and that may not be the owner of the image, you can ask them to release it under a free licence, which means that anyone can use it for anything. Restrictions, like non-commercial use or Wikipedia-only are no use to us either. You would need to have them verify their permission by emailing our OTRS team by following the procedure found at WP:CONSENT.

I see that the subject Solomon Asch is deceased, so you may have a fair-use claim for the use of a copyright image but first you should make every attempt to find a freely licenced image. You may also find it useful to read my image copyright information page which should reduce your confusion. ww2censor (talk) 08:39, 24 November 2012 (UTC)

Thank you for your help! — Preceding unsigned comment added by Marissa1230 (talk • contribs) 09:07, 24 November 2012 (UTC)

Denis Mahon

Greetings! Can someone help me with the copyright status of http://i.telegraph.co.uk/multimedia/archive/01882/mahon_1882936b.jpg ? Thank you--94.65.26.121 (talk) 12:13, 24 November 2012 (UTC)