Wikipedia:Media copyright questions

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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 the GFDL, an acceptable Creative Commons 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.; {{GFDL-self}}), 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 ask your question" link above.
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.

What is the best way to search online library of congress for photos of sports figures or other historical personages?

from dcw2003 Please notify me on my talk page.

What is the best step-by-step procedure for searching the online library of congress for historical photos of existing persons from 1900 until present day?

Will there be historical photos there taken after 1923, the last year of public domain?

Thans — Preceding unsigned comment added by Dcw2003 (talk • contribs) 22:24, 27 December 2017 (UTC)

@Dcw2003: Search their digital collections at https://loc.gov/collections/ by entering the names of the people you are interested in. Yes, there are images from all periods but they are not all out of copyright. BTW, 1923 is not the last year of public domain, but is the year where the copyright has expired on all US published material. You may find it useful to consult the Hirtle chart for more detailed information about other situations. ww2censor (talk) 13:32, 28 December 2017 (UTC)

File:Spinn Inc Logo.png

This seems simple enough for {{PD-logo}}. The question is whether its worth converting to PD and tagging for a move to Commons since it's not currently being used in any articles and User:ROnaLD 007/sandbox might not meet WP:CORP. -- Marchjuly (talk) 02:35, 28 December 2017 (UTC)

Uh, Spinn Inc. exists. I would still move it to Commons regardless. --Masem (t) 02:38, 28 December 2017 (UTC)

Oops, my mistake. I missed that there was an article. Thanks for catching that Masem. -- Marchjuly (talk) 02:41, 28 December 2017 (UTC)

I've replaced the non-free rationale with a free one with a free license and tagged it for move to commons. ww2censor (talk) 13:24, 28 December 2017 (UTC)

File:Political Evolution, Evópoli, party logo, Chile.png

This file is licensed as non-free, but someone recently uploaded File:Evópoli2.png to Commons as "PD-logo" annd "PD-Shape". The only difference between the two seems to be the text in the non-free version. Text in and of itself, however, usually is something not eligible for copyright protection. Is there some reason the non-free version needs to remain non-free? -- Marchjuly (talk) 02:39, 28 December 2017 (UTC)

There is such a thing as "selection and arrangement" copyright that can apply to shapes that have very many components (the obvious case being a book where each letter is PD but the whole book is not, or a photo where each pixel is PD but the whole photo is not). Here, I also wonder if the wing shape is copyrighted; it's not that simple a shape. Jo-Jo Eumerus (talk, contributions) 10:20, 28 December 2017 (UTC)

Copyrights

Hello, I would like to ask how I handle copyrights of:

1. A list of patents that are free to consult, as they have free access provided by the patents recording agency 2. I am asked to provide copyrights of a picture of a person that died in 1919, and the picture was taken between 1910 and 1915. I assume, there are no more copyrights, however, I would like to know how to handle this

Thank you very much for your kind answers. Quico01 (talk) 23:03, 29 December 2017 (UTC)

@Quico01: None of the images you uploaded have any of the necessary details, such as source, author, license, etc. Each image should have a fully completed {{information}} template (click on the link to see who to use it and what to fill in. The images of printed material are probably not necessary for an article because you can use the publication as a citation and do not need an actual image of the pages so long as you state all the publication details. Age, death of the author and if it was published are factors that affect the copyright of your images, so when you have added the required details we can help you more. In fact the death of the subject is essentially not important but the death of the photographer who holds the copyright which usually last for 70 years after their death, so an unpublished 1919 photo whose author dies in 1950 would still be in copyright until 2021. Anything published before 1923 is in the public domain and you can use the copyright tag {{PD-1923}} but I don't think any of your images comply. As I mentioned in a post up this page a bit, you may want to consult the Hirtle chart to help you. ww2censor (talk) 00:29, 30 December 2017 (UTC)

Different cover art of Smooth Talk (album)

I found out that the late-1970s US reprints of Smooth Talk (album) used the different cover. It was also used in the initial Japanese release. Is the alternative cover art appropriate per NFCC? George Ho (talk) 06:12, 3 January 2018 (UTC)

Photos taken in 1910

Was wondering if File:HP Nielsen in his biplane 1910.jpg and File:Merle 1910 Biplane at HP Nielsens shop.jpg need to be licensed as {{Non-free historic image}} since they appear to have been taken prior to 1923. They are being used in HP Nielsen and many of the sources cited in that article are from very old newspapers. If these were published in a newspaper prior to 1923, then they should be {{PD-US}}, right? Even if they were published after 1923, I am wondering if they can be {{PD-US-no notice}}. Anyway, if they need to be non-free, then I'm not sure they are needed per WP:NFCC#1, or WP:NFCC#8 since they do not really have proper non-free use rationales. The infobox photo could probably be {{Non-free biog-pic}} with {{Non-free use rationale biog}} if WP:FREER is not an issue, but the one of the plane might not meet NFCC#8 regardless. -- Marchjuly (talk) 07:10, 3 January 2018 (UTC)

File:Riscos logo generic cogwheel richard hallas lg cogwheel x1.svg

This is licensed as {{PD-ineligible-USonly}}, but am wondering if this would be OK as {{PD-logo}} or even in the UK. If not and it's OK as currenlty licensed, then I don't think it needs any non-free use rationales. -- Marchjuly (talk) 07:44, 3 January 2018 (UTC)

For the UK this really does pass their low threshold of originality: too much subtle shaded areas placement to be TOO. ww2censor (talk) 17:18, 3 January 2018 (UTC)

HumanLight symbol

The HumanLight page contains a text description of the HumanLight symbol, but doesn't have an image. The copyright holder is an unidentified volunteer associated with the New Jersey Humanist Network, and I've determined that the copyright holder does not want to release the image to the public domain based on a concern that the image could be used for satire or commercial purposes. The image is posted on the HumanLight webpage and available for download for those wishing to use it "in HumanLight event materials". Two questions:

• Is a low resolution image reasonable as non-free use in the article, perhaps under the "logo" rationale?
• Can the copyright holder upload the image with whatever restrictions he/she wants? Such as "for use on Wikipedia only"? Thanks. Airborne84 (talk) 16:19, 4 January 2018 (UTC)