Wikipedia:Copyright problems/Advice for admins
This is a guide for administrators and editors working through Wikipedia:Copyright problems and Category:Possible copyright violations.
The main WP:CP page has a link to each day's daily log page. Each daily log page contains transclusions of two other pages, an article page and an image page. The daily log page cannot be edited directly; the article and image pages must be edited separately, but the 'edit' links can be reached from the main WP:CP page.
Investigation
The investigation process is the same for articles and images.
- Compare the article or image, before the page was blanked, with the text or image at the given URL.
- Check the copyright status of the given URL to see if the content is already licensed under the GFDL or a compatible Creative Commons license.
- Make sure that the website did not copy it from Wikipedia.
- There are many Wikipedia mirrors, and Wikipedia articles may also be copied to personal websites, etc.
- If it is unclear which came first, check the date at the webpage with the article history to see if the "copied" text was added all at one time or if it was added over time in multiple edits as an organic on-wiki creation.
- Large chunks of unwikified text added in one revision are usually copied from somewhere.
- How much text was copied into the article? Was it 4,500 words, or was it a three-sentence paragraph?
- Note that translations from foreign languages can also be copyright violations.
- Check if there is a claim of permission or ownership.
- Check the article's talk page, edit summaries, and the user talk page of the article's creator/editor who added the text. Sometimes new editors are unsure where to claim permission, and could state their claim in unlikely places.
- Check the page history to see if there is a clean version without the infringing text.
- For images, make sure the image is hosted at Wikipedia and not at Commons. Wikipedia administrators cannot delete images from Commons unless they are also Commons administrators.
Articles
If the page is copied from a website with an obvious copyright notice that is not compatible with Wikipedia, there are no clean versions in the article's history, and there is no assertion of permission or ownership:
- Delete the article under Wikipedia:Criteria for speedy deletion#G12.
- In the 'Other/additional reason' field, enter the URL of the source page.
- For copyright violations, it does not matter if the article is one day old or three years old - 'speedy' means 'without discussion' and is not a reference to the length of time the article has been on Wikipedia.
If the text in question is a minor part of the article, like a paragraph or a list:
- Remove the text in question from the article and use an appropriate edit summary to explain.
- A note on the article's talk page would also be helpful so other editors will not revert or add the text back to the article.
If there are clean revisions in the history:
- Delete the article, then use the undelete function to restore the untainted versions.
- If the article has undergone significant expansion after the copyrighted text was inserted, you could edit the article after its restoration to add the appropriate text or images so the article will be up to date.
If there is a claim of ownership or permission:
- Ask the claimant on the article talk page or their user talk page to alter the website to indicate that use is permitted under the GFDL, or they may also contact the Wikimedia Foundation from an associated e-mail or postal address to release it. For further information, see the introduction to Wikipedia:Copyright problems and Wikipedia:Requesting copyright permission.
- If appropriate, note on that day's log, under the page's entry, that there is a claim of permission and the seven-day time frame for verification has begun.
- If someone else has already informed the claimant how to release permission, do not delete the article until at least 7 days after that information has been provided.
If it is indeed a copyright violation, and there is no claim or the claimant did not follow up:
- Check the page history to ensure 7 days have passed since the notice was given.
- If 7 days have passed with no action, delete the article.
- Give a good rationale for deletion, but do not include any non-free or copyrighted text in the rationale.
- If the article has links to many other articles, you can delete the article and, as a courtesy, create a new article or stub in its place using the infobox, lead sections, external links, categories, and other relevant free material from the old article.
- Some examples of articles that have been deleted and recreated in this manner include Golden Spur and Telmatobius culeus. It doesn't take very long to create a short stub and it helps avoid Wikidrama.
If the article was rewritten, or there is any indication of a rewrite on the talk page or edit summaries:
- Check the temporary subpage /Temp, as linked on the copyvio notice (or wherever the new version has been created).
- Move it from there to the main article you just deleted; use a descriptive rationale.
- Delete the useless redirect that results from this under WP:CSD#G6 (non-controversial housekeeping).
If there was no copyright violation, remove the {{copyvio}} notice from the article by reverting to the last version prior to insertion of the template. Use an appropriate edit summary.
Images
Wikipedia:Non-free_content is the policy governing non-free images.
Images listed at WP:CP should be blatant image copyright infringements, images for which the source is known and which cannot be used under a free license or fair use doctrine. Examples include derivative works of copyrighted images and images for which free alternatives exist.
If the image is identical to the image found at the given URL and it cannot be used on Wikipedia under fair use or a free license:
- Delete the image with an edit summary such as "copyright infringement of <place URL here> without permission".
If the image has been tagged by the uploader with a free license when that is obviously not the case:
- Delete the image under Wikipedia:Criteria for speedy deletion#I9. as a blatant copyright infringement. Add the URL to the 'Other/additional reason' field.
If the image seems like a copyright infringement but there is no URL given in the report for the source, or you're uncertain about its copyright status:
- Remove the {{imagevio}} template and list the image at Wikipedia:Possibly unfree images according to the instructions.
Logos and cover art, and other images that can be used under WP:NFC with appropriate licensing and rationales are sometimes listed here as copyright infringements. If so, and the image lacks a rationale or a license, or if it has other issues, remove {{imagevio}} from the image and add the appropriate template(s) instead:
- {{subst:nsd}} - no source given
- {{subst:nld}} - no license
- {{subst:nrd}} - no fair use rationale
- {{subst:rfu}} - replaceable image
- {{subst:orfud}} - orphaned fair use
As a courtesy, tag the captions in the article(s) in which the image is used and notify the uploader. Templates are available for both purposes and are included as part of the image template.
Completion
If you deleted the article or image, it's not necessary to do anything else. The red link on that day's log page will indicate the page was deleted as the resolution of the issue.
If the page was not deleted (no violation, deleted and clean revisions were restored, listed at WP:PUI, rewritten, etc.), strikethrough (<s>...</s> around the entry) the listing on that day's log page and leave a brief explanation of your actions.
When all entries on a day's log have been considered and every article and image listed that day have been resolved, remove the day's daily log page from Wikipedia:Copyright problems but do not delete it.
Old daily log pages can be found at [[Wikipedia:Copyright problems/year month day/Articles]] or [[Wikipedia:Copyright problems/year month day/Images]].