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This is an old revision of this page, as edited by T torres02 (talk | contribs) at 13:11, 23 May 2010 (→‎Uploading a picture of a cover of a book: new section). The present address (URL) is a permanent link to this revision, which may differ significantly from the current revision.

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    Media copyright questions
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    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
    1. On the description page of the image (the one whose name starts File:), click Edit this page.
    2. 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.
    3. 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.
    4. Remove any existing tag complaining that the image has no tag (for example, {{untagged}})
    5. Hit Publish changes.
    6. If you still have questions, go on to "How to ask a question" below.
    How to ask a question
    1. To ask a new question hit the "Click here to start a new discussion" link below.
    2. Please sign your question by typing ~~~~ at the end.
    3. Check this page for updates, or request to be notified on your talk page.
    4. 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.

    Click here to start a new discussion

    Click here to purge this page
    (For help, see Wikipedia:Purge)


    I gave up

    I came across a publicity picture of Dave King in a 1980 book about the TV stars. His wikipage doesn't have a picture (there are very few of him about) so I thought that would do. But then I looked up the copyright stuff and after so many pages, thought to myself, why am I wasting my time here when a few hours after I post it, someone will tell me it is scheduled for deletion next week as it is missing such and such information, etc? It just ain't worth the effort. (Cyberia3 (talk) 17:48, 14 May 2010 (UTC))[reply]

    Good idea. I don't know which of the 17 Dave Kings, you're talking about, but if he's still alive, a publicity picture would be deleted after about a week for not being free content. We can't use images like the one you're describing unless they meet the non-free content criteria, and a picture of a living person almost never does. --Carnildo (talk) 21:51, 14 May 2010 (UTC)[reply]
    I have a similar question and share Cyberia3's frustration -- but I'm not willing to give up!  :-) I figure, once I understand the process, and the rationale, I can add more missing photos with confidence that I'm doing it properly. I would like to add a photo of T-Bone Walker [1] which appears to be a publicity shot. Since he is deceased, could it be uploaded as "Historically significant fair use (deceased person or historic events)" or "Promotional material"? If so, which one? The photo is from 1942 and Walker has been deceased since 1975. I intend to use the photo for his Wikipedia entry. --Archaeolojae (talk) 15:14, 15 May 2010 (UTC)[reply]
    Since that photo is so old, is it possible it was published without a copyright notice, or copyright not renewed on the material? Do you have an original publicity material? In that case the picture will have entered public domain by now. Otherwise "Promotional material" would be the right term. Graeme Bartlett (talk) 10:46, 16 May 2010 (UTC)[reply]
    I believe one of the contributors to the website, from which I obtained the jpg, has an original. The caption for it says "From the collection of Robert Pruter". I received permission from Mr. Pruter to use the photo (even though he may not be the copyright holder). Unless otherwise instructed, I will put it under "Promotional material" just in case Capitol Records still has rights to it (it says Capitol Records on the photo). --Archaeolojae (talk) 13:40, 16 May 2010 (UTC)[reply]

    License and Source?

    Okay, I've uploaded some images on some pages, but they will be deleted in a few days because I do not have a license or source. Now I do not know all the technicalities of this copyright stuff. How do you acquire/mark a license? Also, what does the source refer to, the person who took the pic or the website/gallery where I acquired it? I really need some clarification on this issue.Meteorico (talk) 19:19, 15 May 2010 (UTC)[reply]

    well the source is where you got it from. The license is the permission granted to use the picture. If you took it from a website, then there must be evidence to show that the picture has a license that is added. Hopefully this is free, allowing derivatives, or commercial use. Most pictures taken off web sites are not suitable for Wikipedia. If you do find a free one it can go to the commons. The reason that the information is needed is that other people need to have confidence that the material on Wikipedia is free. Commercial users have to take copyright very seriously and need to know on what basis the image can be used. Graeme Bartlett (talk) 10:43, 16 May 2010 (UTC)[reply]

    In the UK, what is the copyright position of a black and white photograph that has been colourized and otherwise improved ie dropping in sky, sea, grass etc. Is this a new creation/image? —Preceding unsigned comment added by 90.197.53.142 (talk) 20:39, 15 May 2010 (UTC)[reply]

    It's a derivative work. See Commons:Commons:Derivative work, but in short, the original photographer and the person who made the colourization etc. must both permit any further uses of the image. Stifle (talk) 13:47, 19 May 2010 (UTC)[reply]

    Another question

    Please help me with this. What do I seem to be doing wrong? I tried to fill it out properly, but these bots say I haven't provided copyright information properly.  ???http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Orbits-framed.jpg —Preceding unsigned comment added by Chrisrus (talk • contribs) 01:28, 16 May 2010 (UTC)[reply]

    It was not clear to the bot that there was a license there. I added the template with attribution. I cannot tell what version of CC license, but it may be original one. For your future uploads, please always select a license. Graeme Bartlett (talk) 10:39, 16 May 2010 (UTC)[reply]

    Musical Examples

    Hi there!

    I just have a quick question regarding the use of musical score examples.

    If I were to create my own sibelius files depicting thematic material from a work, how do I properly indicate the source?

    If the piece is over 100 years old, isn't the score public domain?

    Thanks!

    If the music was published before 1923, it is in the public domain in the U.S. — Walloon (talk) 07:00, 19 May 2010 (UTC)[reply]
    But Sibelius files can't be uploaded here. Stifle (talk) 13:46, 19 May 2010 (UTC)[reply]

    Sound bite

    First is it possible to upload an audio sound bite, and if so what are the file (data) restrictions?

    Second, I have a sound bite from a publicly available sermon. I made this recording myself. Does this entitle me to use it? William Herbert (talk) 12:38, 18 May 2010 (UTC).[reply]

    Your own recording, gives you a copyright. It would be good to get permission from the speaker before you upload. Hopefully the speaker is not reading any otherwise copyrighted material. You should be able to release the recording under the free license you choose (CC-BY-SA-3.0). The sound has to be in the .ogg format.
    For your sound bite, presumably this is someone else's work. You may be able to use it under fair use, which has to satisfy the fair use criteria. There has to be a reason to use it which adds value to the article. Graeme Bartlett (talk) 10:58, 19 May 2010 (UTC)[reply]

    Using a photo without knowing the source

    I uploaded two picture files, and although I don't know the original source, both photos were given to me by the subjects (i.e., William Baer emailed me the photo of himself specifically to upload to his wiki page, and Joseph Urbanczyk emailed his photo to Dr. Baer to give to me to put on his wiki page). How do I copyright tag photos like that so they are not deleted? File:Baer1.jpg File:Joseph_Urbanczyk.jpg

    Find out from the subjects who holds the copyrights on the photos, and get those people to release them under a free license. Algebraist 13:54, 18 May 2010 (UTC)[reply]

    I need help figuring out what the license is

    I would like to upload the following image: Baton Rouge seal. what is the appropriate license to be used? —Preceding unsigned comment added by Yar2 (talk • contribs) 14:00, 18 May 2010 (UTC)[reply]

    fair use with {{fair use rationale}} and {{non-free logo}} should do the job. Graeme Bartlett (talk) 08:52, 19 May 2010 (UTC)[reply]

    Help

    How can i upload any file to eikipedia —Preceding unsigned comment added by Salampadpu (talk • contribs) 14:21, 18 May 2010 (UTC)[reply]

    Once you have made enough edits and are around long enough you can become autoconfirmed, then you will have permission to use special:upload. In your case you can make a request at WP:IFU to ask someone else to do it for you. Or you can upload at WP:Commons by using commons:upload, if you have a free item. Graeme Bartlett (talk) 08:50, 19 May 2010 (UTC)[reply]

    Album Art

    How do I correctly add album artwork to an album page? —Preceding unsigned comment added by Vermillion92 (talk • contribs) 18:20, 18 May 2010 (UTC)[reply]

    See Help:Files. However, note that there should generally only be one album cover image per album page. Stifle (talk) 13:46, 19 May 2010 (UTC)[reply]

    Long quotes on talk pages - copyvio or fair use?

    In discussions on how to improve an article on a talk page, is it permissible to post a longer quote (say 5 paragraphs) from a source, along with a citation of that source, and say "this reference (the quoted source) contradicts what the article asserts", and also to have the quote up there so that editors can collaborate on selecting what passages/information from the quote to use in the article? I have seem editors delete quotes from other editors' comments on an article's talk page, saying they were too long and violated copyright policy. This seems a rather over-strict interpretation of copyright policy and law to me - the quotation is attributed, and it is merely being discussed on an internet talk page, not republished for gain.Mmyers1976 (talk) 19:58, 18 May 2010 (UTC)[reply]

    Five paragraphs from a book would probably be fine. Five paragraphs from a journal article would probably also be fine. Five paragraphs from a newspaper report, a magazine article, or a short web article would probably not be fine. Stifle (talk) 13:45, 19 May 2010 (UTC)[reply]
    Thanks, does Wikipedia policy specify lengths of quotations relative to length of source, or is it more up to subjective interpretation?Mmyers1976 (talk) 18:39, 19 May 2010 (UTC)[reply]
    Sadly, it's really pretty subjective. The Wikipedia:Non-free content guidelines only tell us that "brief quotations" are acceptable, whereas "Excessively long" quotations are not. VernoWhitney (talk) 13:20, 22 May 2010 (UTC)[reply]

    What if a picture is commonly used by a church such as:

    http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:NealAMaxwell.jpg

    but the church doesn't want to openly license the picture. Can the picture still be used?

    I'm having this situation with two files:

    http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Chad_Webb.jpg

    http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Kim_B._Clark_PR_photo_high_res.jpg —Preceding unsigned comment added by Johnhiltoniii (talk • contribs) 20:48, 19 May 2010 (UTC)[reply]

    If the person in the picture is dead (as in File:NealAMaxwell.jpg) then it could meet the non-free content criteria, but if they're still alive then the images should be replaceable because someone can just take a new picture of them. For Kim B. Clark in particular we already have a free picture, so it could be replaced by a different free picture, but not by a non-free one (and I've reverted the page to the older version accordingly). VernoWhitney (talk) 21:08, 19 May 2010 (UTC)[reply]

    File:S ali naqi.jpg

    what is problem with my work (File:S ali naqi.jpg) ? —Preceding unsigned comment added by Syedalinaqinaqvi (talk • contribs) 00:58, 20 May 2010 (UTC)[reply]

    You haven't explained who took the photo or what gives us permission to use it. Stifle (talk) 09:31, 20 May 2010 (UTC)[reply]

    image of devi kaali and durga maata

    these images are my own creation. please tell me what i will have to do to for copyrigt tag to these images. —Preceding unsigned comment added by Mamanjee (talk • contribs) 10:01, 20 May 2010 (UTC)[reply]

    Choose one of the licenses from WP:ICT/FL and add it to the image description pages. Stifle (talk) 15:38, 20 May 2010 (UTC)[reply]

    viewing media message

    how do i view a message sent to me from a mobile phone? —Preceding unsigned comment added by Wezparis (talk • contribs) 13:16, 20 May 2010 (UTC)[reply]

    Hi, this page is for copyright-related questions about media (usually images) uploaded to Wikipedia. For answers to your question try asking at the Reference Desk. VernoWhitney (talk) 13:52, 20 May 2010 (UTC)[reply]

    The image of the White House south facade

    Please grand permission to use the image in http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:WhiteHouseSouthFacade.JPG in a power point file for an article for submittal to a journal. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 24.7.69.30 (talk) 13:49, 20 May 2010 (UTC)[reply]

    Hi, if you read the licensing information on that image, you do not require permission to use it. Good luck!--Wehwalt (talk) 13:51, 20 May 2010 (UTC)[reply]

    Is an approval mark copyrighted?

    Can I upload an image of a german approval mark for car bulbs?

    I have no idea whether this is copyrighted one or the other way.

    It is somethings like the "CE" mark found here

    http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Cemark.svg

    As a matter of fact I'm not yet able to upload files, because I'am not an (Auto)confirmed user.

    What to do to complete my contribution to the project?

    Already asked here: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:Help_desk#Is_an_approval_mark_copyrighted.3F

    Mleimann (talk) 14:55, 20 May 2010 (UTC)[reply]

    If you have an article on the topic, it would certainly be fine under fair use. If the mark is just a few simple characters the the pd-text-logo probably applies, and it could be uploaded to commons (commons:upload) which you could likely do yourself. Graeme Bartlett (talk) 22:44, 20 May 2010 (UTC)[reply]

    Images Uploaded without My Permission!!!

    Hi! To my horror, I have discovered that the following images created by me were uploaded without my express permission. I can provide proof of ownership by showing larger, uncropped, watermarked copies, but I need these images removed, as I never agreed to release them into the public domain!

    Please contact me at <redacted> for proof. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 173.183.95.193 (talk) 06:26, 21 May 2010 (UTC)[reply]

    Note this IP is claiming to be indef blocked user User:NeoThe1. --Yankees76 (talk) 15:02, 21 May 2010 (UTC)[reply]
    If you are in NeoThe1, then I'll note that at least some of those images were uploaded and licensed as they are by you, so as far as I'm aware they are out of your control now. I haven't looked at all of them, but that's my initial comment. VernoWhitney (talk) 15:23, 21 May 2010 (UTC)[reply]
    I have completed my review and all of them were definitively uploaded and licensed for any use by NeoThe1, except possibly commons:File:Chuck Palahniuk Roses and Shit Tour 2006.jpg which I believe would require a Wikipedia admin to confirm. As I previously said, I believe the attribution license is non-revocable, but if you are not NeoThe1 and they did not have the right to release the images or if you otherwise believe there is a copyright issue which requires that the images be removed, you should send an email following the steps listed at Wikipedia:Contact us/Article problem/Copyright. VernoWhitney (talk) 15:48, 21 May 2010 (UTC)[reply]

    I am an admin and an OTRS agent, and can help clear this matter up with you. I'm a little concerned because above you say, I have discovered that the following images created by me were uploaded without my express permission. but then you also say I am the original creator of the image (user NeoThe1). I own the copyright. I do not permit it to be used So what is the case? Were the images uploaded without your permission, or are you the original creatore User:NeoThe1? And have you just changed your mind a couple years after you uploaded them as User:NeoThe1? We need to get to the bottom of your conflicting statements. Then we can proceed confirming your identity as original copyright holder via e-mail. Thanks! -Andrew c [talk] 16:40, 21 May 2010 (UTC)[reply]

    I received a warning about a picture of me that may be erased because of no copyright info. File:shane4.jpg. Maybe that will link to it. It's the only picture currently on my userpage; user:rangermatthias.

    This picture is just a photo of me. It's mine, but I don't understand how to tell you guys that. Or prove it. It's me, I can show you my drivers license or something...if I knew where you were :) —Preceding unsigned comment added by Rangermatthias (talk • contribs) 07:42, 22 May 2010 (UTC)[reply]

    While you may own the image, though you did not fill in the source (i.e., who took it?), you have not added any copyright tag to the image page to tell us under what copyright licence you are allowing its use. Please sign your posts. ww2censor (talk) 14:54, 22 May 2010 (UTC)[reply]

    Fair-use rationale for an image published in a scientific paper.

    Hi, I would like to upload an image of the assembly of the genome of the synthetic life form created by Craig Venter and his group for use in the Synthetic Genomics, Craig Venter and Mycoplasma mycoides and any other associated articles. This is an image from a paper in published in Science. The only fair use rationale I can put up for uploading it is the fact that it is a major milestone in science - an image of the first ever synthetically created genome to power a living cell - and therefore would be very important both scientifically and historically. I would like to know if it is possible to upload this image and what fair use rationale I should mention for it. It is a very low resolution image - 854 px × 877 px to be precise. Thanks in advance. Manoj Prajwal (talk) 16:32, 22 May 2010 (UTC)[reply]

    Ask the photographer?

    Hi there. I want to add an image to an article I'm in the midst of creating. I want to add an image that is on the photographer's Facebook page. Is it enough to just obtain her permission to use the image and then say in the image's description that permission has been obtained? Or do I need actual documentation? Also, it won't let me upload a picture saying the file extension doesn't match the MIME type? It's a PNG file, and it says that it accepts PNGS... if you could post back on my talk page, I'd greatly appreciate it. Thank you!  :) (StringUsername (talk) 20:51, 22 May 2010 (UTC))[reply]

    Random question

    can i use the photos for my woek? —Preceding unsigned comment added by 124.123.103.106 (talk) 08:23, 23 May 2010 (UTC)[reply]

    Uploading a picture of a cover of a book

    I'm trying to upload a picture of the cover of the book "Evernight" by Claudia Gray and add it to the page "Evernight (series)", but is there anything I need to do before I upload it? It seems like I got a lot of different things to do before uploading it and I don't know which to do first.

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