Commons:Village pump/Copyright

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Welcome to the Village pump copyright section

This Wikimedia Commons page is used for general discussions relating to copyright and license issues, and for discussions relating to specific files' copyright issues. Discussions relating to specific copyright policies should take place on the talk page of the policy, but may be advertised here. Recent sections with no replies for 7 days and sections tagged with {{section resolved|1=~~~~}} may be archived; for old discussions, see the archives.

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A vision for 2020[edit]

I have a small collection of work I'd like help revising. I don't know how all this works yet. Let me know if anyone is interested. Thank you 2603:6080:EE40:1BD:2867:64D:BDB6:CE02 03:47, 15 April 2024 (UTC)[reply]

To attract volunteers, you will have to be clearer on the type of help you need. Is it to revise some file names, file descriptions, licences, categories or do you need help with photo editing? From Hill To Shore (talk) 05:11, 15 April 2024 (UTC)[reply]

Targaryen sigil files[edit]

Can anyone request the mass deletion of the files in this category (except the original ones like A and B)? They are either copies or derivatives of the design created by HBO for Game of Thrones (the Targaryen article on Fandom wiki explains it. Click on the image and then on "More info"). Enaldo(discussão) 12:07, 15 April 2024 (UTC)[reply]

@EnaldoSS: Hi, and welcome. I did that for you in Commons:Deletion requests/Files in Category:Coats of arms of House Targaryen with VFC. You may do so yourself next time.   — 🇺🇦Jeff G. please ping or talk to me🇺🇦 12:32, 15 April 2024 (UTC)[reply]
Thank you very much! Enaldo(discussão) 12:34, 15 April 2024 (UTC)[reply]
@EnaldoSS: You're welcome!   — 🇺🇦Jeff G. please ping or talk to me🇺🇦 12:38, 15 April 2024 (UTC)[reply]

Licensing of photographs from Poland taken before and during WWII[edit]

I've just created an article on Bela Hazan, who acted as a courier for the Jewish resistance during WWII. There are some images that I would like to be able to use in the article. They can all be seen here, the group of three couriers, Bela Hazan's mugshot from Auschwitz and the family photograph. Looking at another example, File:Frumka-Plotnicka.jpg, it uses two license templates "PD-Polish" and "PD-anon-70-EU". Would these be appropriate for the three images that I'm interested in uploading? Thanks, Mikenorton (talk) 15:08, 15 April 2024 (UTC)[reply]

To clarify I should note that all the photos were taken in Poland as it was then but the first was taken in Grodno (now part of Belarus), the second at Auschwitz (still Poland) with the other almost certainly taken in Rozhyshche (now part of Ukraine). Mikenorton (talk) 15:33, 15 April 2024 (UTC)[reply]

Change of question as it seems that all three are already on Commons - see File:שלוש הקשריות.jpg, File:Ktystyna Kossowska 24453 - high resolution.jpg and File:משפחת חזן.jpg but the licensing used doesn't seem to match what I know of their origin. So the question now is, should I update the licensing using the templates that I suggested above? Mikenorton (talk) 18:32, 16 April 2024 (UTC)[reply]

If we know they were published in Poland, {{PD-Poland}} is probably what you want. I thought Poland restored photographs to EU norms, but I'm not entirely sure. But Poland's general term for anonymous works was 50 years until 1994, so pre-WWII stuff is usually fine. Carl Lindberg (talk) 23:29, 16 April 2024 (UTC)[reply]
Thanks, although I'm not sure what published means for instance for a photograph taken by a Gestapo officer, presumably the date it was first printed? Anyway I'll make the changes. Mikenorton (talk) 08:01, 17 April 2024 (UTC)[reply]
The term "published" can indeed be quite tortured, and differ by country. For PD-Poland I think it only matters for the U.S. definition at the time, which is itself difficult to define and can be based on judicial circuit, but if copies were given out beyond immediate family (and copies given to a family by a professional photographer may well count), it likely was. Carl Lindberg (talk) 12:24, 17 April 2024 (UTC)[reply]
Thanks, that's mostly reassuring, which is the best I can hope for I reckon. Mikenorton (talk) 16:52, 17 April 2024 (UTC)[reply]

Crosswiki transfer license check[edit]

It looks like File:Apidej Sit Hirun.JPG was transferred to Commons from Thai Wikipedia in 2014 but the th:File:Apidet 01.JPG no longer exists and there no other information provided to verify that this has been released as licensed. Since en:Apidej Sit-Hirun died in 2013, this photo couldn't have been taken on 6 September 2014, and this blog shows a similar photo probably taken roughly around the same time. It's possible this could be PD per COM:Thailand, but I'm not sure. Any opinions on whether there's a way to keep this or does it need to go to COM:DR per COM:PCP. FWIW, the uploader hasn't edited on Commons since mid-December 2023, but does appear to be active on French Wikipedia. -- Marchjuly (talk) 07:01, 16 April 2024 (UTC)[reply]

Maybe one could ask at the Thai Wikipedia embassy for an administrator to access the deleted revision and see whether it contained any valuable information on the license? It may well just have been deleted because there was a Commons duplicate, thereby accidentally cutting off the information trail.
{{PD-Thailand}} could be tight anyway, as it would require pre-1972 publication, and it would in all likelihood be protected in the US by URAA restorations for many years to come regardless of its current status in Thailnad. Felix QW (talk) 13:05, 16 April 2024 (UTC)[reply]

License template for PD-1996-95 y.o. non-US publications[edit]

How can I describe works published in other countries between 1929 and 1977 with copyright restored in US by URAA, but wich are now in Public domain in US because this works are 95+ years old? For example this work, published in 1920 in Lithuania, author died in 1952, so it was not PD in 1996, but it is both PD for Lithuania (70 years after author's death) and US (95+ years old publication). Plaga med (talk) 20:43, 16 April 2024 (UTC)[reply]

Hi, {{PD-old-70-expired}} is the right license for this case. Yann (talk) 20:46, 16 April 2024 (UTC)[reply]
{{PD-old-auto-expired|1952}} would be even better. --Rosenzweig τ 20:54, 16 April 2024 (UTC)[reply]
So I don't need to show explicitly why it is PD in US after 1996? Plaga med (talk) 09:08, 17 April 2024 (UTC)[reply]
You do, but that is precisely what the "expired" part of the tag does. Felix QW (talk) 09:24, 17 April 2024 (UTC)[reply]
Now I understand, thank you all! Plaga med (talk) 09:49, 17 April 2024 (UTC)[reply]

Is this fall under COM:FOP Vietnam? Phương Linh (talk) 14:25, 16 April 2024 (UTC)[reply]

Upload free icons to Commons[edit]

Hi, I checked this URL [1] and found they are free to download, so is it possible to upload them to Commons? PS: some icons are really helpful for demonstrating content in Wikibooks or Wikiversity.  A l p h a m a  Talk 03:38, 19 April 2024 (UTC)[reply]

Whats their license ? Free as in costs or free as in restrictions? —TheDJ (talkcontribs) 06:43, 19 April 2024 (UTC)[reply]
https://home.streamlinehq.com/license-free
some are ccby4. dont know which sets are such. RZuo (talk) 08:59, 19 April 2024 (UTC)[reply]
Now I can see their CC BY 4.0 license in some sets. For example, Freebies-freemojis is a free set and we only see the license when viewing the page source (A cute vector emoji set that you can use in your applications, websites or publications. Licensed under the Creative Commons - CC BY 4.0.).  A l p h a m a  Talk 11:49, 19 April 2024 (UTC)[reply]

PD-Venezuela and older works[edit]

Hello there. I've been asked to give a statement regarding the PD status of a 1950s official portrait of a Venezuelan president. I am not really sure if the final law cited in the PD-VenezuelaGov template applies retroactively. It says: "Ley Orgánica del Trabajo, los Trabajadores y las Trabajadoras (Labor Law), on May 7, 2012, Article 325. Intellectual products generated under an employment relationship in the public sector—or financed through public funds—that generates intellectual property rights, will be considered to be in the public domain, while maintaining the authors' rights to public recogniti"o Since this is a labor law, not a copyright or intellectual property law per se, I am not certain this applies retroactively. In the particular case, the pertinent template is PD-Venezuela as it only protects works for 60 years and it is in the public domain, safely, in Venezuela. However, for later works I'm not sure PD-VenezuelaGov could apply. Bedivere (talk) 16:07, 19 April 2024 (UTC)[reply]

[edit]

I work in the marketing department for a community college and I have been put in charge of making sure all of our public information is correct. I noticed that there are some needed changes to some of the data on the college's page, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Do%C3%B1a_Ana_Community_College, as well as the logo. That logo was never accurate. We have never used that color blue, and there have been some additional changes to the specifics of the logo itself, and I would like to upload a current, accurate version of the logo. However, the Wiki image process indicates that we cannot upload logos. How do I rectify this problem? Also, it has been many a year since I edited a Wiki page, under a different user account (I created this one for the college so others in my department could take over the role as needed), but I have read through the How-To section so I feel confident I can manage just fine. I just really want to get that logo updated, and I would also like to add a banner-type image of one of our campuses with mountains in the background. This image was taken by one of us in this department, using college equipment, so it automatically belongs to the school. How would I get around copyright infringement in this instance? Dona Ana CC (talk) 22:11, 19 April 2024 (UTC)[reply]

The simplest way is to post any images you want to upload on the college's official website with a clear indication that those images are available under a free licence compatible with COM:L. You can then upload your images here and provide a link to your website when the upload form asks for the source of the image.
If the college is not the copyright owner, or you don't want to place the images on your website, you can use the COM:VRT process, which lets you submit permission to release under a suitable licence and proof of copyright ownership via email. From Hill To Shore (talk) 22:36, 19 April 2024 (UTC)[reply]
@Dona Ana CC: do also make sure you read en:WP:COI before editing the English-language Wikipedia (which I presume is the one you mean by "the college's page"). As a person editing about your own employer, you need to make a disclosure before editing en-wiki, and there are certain limitations on what you can do there. (Not an issue for Commons, but just giving you a heads-up). - Jmabel ! talk 04:21, 20 April 2024 (UTC)[reply]
@Dona Ana CC: You make a request at en:Wikipedia:Files for upload and ask someone to upload the correct logo for the college as non-free content locally to English Wikipedia. In you're request, you should provide a link a website showing the correct logo and also a link to the article where you'd like the file to be used. If the logo isn't something completely different, it might even be possible for someone to simply update the currently used file (en:File:Dona Ana Community College logo - 2014.png) with a more accurate version of the logo. You will only be able to upload the file to Commons if you can get the copyright holder (assuming that's the college) to agree to release it under a license acceptable for Commons as explained in COM:L or the logo is considered to simple to eligible for copyright protection under US copyright law per en:threshold of originality. If you're unable to clearly demonstrate either of these two things, the logo should be uploaded locally to English Wikipedia as non-free. Finally, you posted I created this one for the college so others in my department could take over the role as needed above, but that's not something allowed per English Wikipedia policy as explained here. English Wikipedia accounts aren't allowed to be shared or passed on to others and you should be the only one using your account now and forever. If there comes a time, for whatever reason, that someone else replaces you in your position at the college, that person should create a new account for English Wikipedia and edit using it. Just for reference, you can use this account to also edit on English Wikipedia or any other Wikimedia Foundation project page if you want; you don't need to create a new account for each project, but only you should be using this account. However, your current username is a violation of English Wikipedia's username policy regarding promotional and implied shared use usernames; so, you will need to modify your username if you want to use this account to edit English Wikipedia. -- Marchjuly (talk) 08:16, 20 April 2024 (UTC)[reply]