Commons:Village pump/Copyright

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Sint Maarten Government Images[edit]

I have reviewed the Commons copyright rules of Sint Maarten and the Netherlands. As I understand it, copyright in Sint Maarten is governed by the Auteursverordening (Author's Regulation).

Are the images produced/provided by the Government of Sint Maarten or the Parliament of Sint Maarten subject to any copyright restrictions? As far as I can tell there is no coherent copyright policy on either site.

I did find this advisory report that makes mention of creative commons licensing. It says, "Government produced video, photographs and other material are the property of the government." But I can not tell if they are talking about Aruba or Sint Maarten.

Sint Maarten had a recent change in government and I would like to understand what I am allowed to upload. For example, is the image found on this press release available to upload on Commons or English Wikipedia?

As far as I can tell, the absence of copyright details probably means: no, it can not be used.

Thanks in advance for your help. -- Classicwiki (talk) If you reply here, please ping me. 04:18, 4 May 2024 (UTC)[reply]

COM:NOP Sint Maarten also makes mention of what has been made public by or on behalf of the public authorities, apparently governed by Art. 11 (2) of the copyright law, but I cannot actually find a second sentence of Article 11 in either the Dutch or the English version of the law as on WIPO or at File:Dutch copyright act 2006-06-22.pdf. Very strange. Felix QW (talk) 19:58, 4 May 2024 (UTC)[reply]
@Felix QW, I finally found this page on a Sint Maarten hosted website, which does have Art. 11 (2). It states,
"Evenmin bestaat auteursrecht op hetgeen verder door of vanwege de openbare macht is openbaar gemaakt, tenzij dat recht, hetzij in het algemeen bij wet, besluit of verordening, hetzij in een bepaald geval blijkens mededeling op het werk zelf of bij de openbaarmaking daarvan, voorbehouden is."
Same language can be found here too.
What is your interpretation of that? Are images hosted on the Government of Sint Maarten or the Parliament of Sint Maarten subject to any copyright restrictions? Thanks, Classicwiki (talk) If you reply here, please ping me. 18:08, 7 May 2024 (UTC)[reply]
from my understanding as a law student, if the image is published by the government then its public domain. the tricky part is the type of image published. the sourced image you mentioned from the government site is public domain. CharlesViBritannia (talk) 10:44, 8 May 2024 (UTC)[reply]
It does make an exception for cases where rights are explicitly reserved, and to me the footer line Parliament of Sint Maarten - All rights reserved at the parliament website would be enough to put its public domain status in doubt. On the government website you linked I cannot find such a statement, so images from there could be fine. Felix QW (talk) 10:56, 8 May 2024 (UTC)[reply]
@Classicwiki The legal text is a good find, by the way! We should probably link to it from COM:Sint Maarten. Felix QW (talk) 10:58, 8 May 2024 (UTC)[reply]
@CharlesViBritannia, @Felix QW, yes I am concerned about the all rights reserved on the parliament website's footer.
Second Marlin cabinet image exists on English Wikipedia under a non-free use rationale. Might be the best route, but would prefer to upoload to Commons.
@Felix QW, where do you think I should put the link? Background or Not protected section? -- Classicwiki (talk) If you reply here, please ping me. 18:26, 9 May 2024 (UTC)[reply]
I think updating the link in the background section would make most sense. Felix QW (talk) 19:29, 11 May 2024 (UTC)[reply]

Alfredo Di Lelio[edit]

Can we use this image free of restrictions? It is (said to be) of Alfredo Di Lelio, the originator of w:Fettuccine Alfredo, in front of his Roman restaurant. I would estimate that it was taken c. 1910-1920. It can be found here, here, and here (as well as other places). Cheers, Cl3phact0 (talk) 06:57, 4 May 2024 (UTC)[reply]

@Cl3phact0: , For Italy, photographs would either have a copyright term of creation plus 20 years if it is a simple photograph or life of the author plus 70 years for artistic photographs. I'm inclined towards believing this photograph to be a simple one. @Ruthven: @Blackcat: for a second opinion from Italian administrators. Abzeronow (talk) 17:19, 4 May 2024 (UTC)[reply]
@Cl3phact0: If that photograph, being clearly not-artistic, was taken before 1977, the photo is in public domain both in Italy and the US. In this case can be published on Commons with licences {{PD-Italy}}{{PD-1996|IT}} in the permission field of {{Information}} template. -- Blackcat 19:14, 4 May 2024 (UTC)[reply]
I do agree with Blackcat. Use both templates. Ruthven (msg) 05:16, 5 May 2024 (UTC)[reply]

Thank you @Abzeronow, Blackcat, and Ruthven: Does the same logic apply to this version (sharper looking image and slightly larger file)? -- Cl3phact0 (talk) 15:06, 5 May 2024 (UTC)[reply]
I've gone ahead with the upload of the first of the two possible files. Please let me know if the other is okay, and I'll add it too. -- Cl3phact0 (talk) 20:48, 5 May 2024 (UTC)[reply]

@Cl3phact0 As long as it is a PD file, there are no issues. Ruthven (msg) 23:15, 5 May 2024 (UTC)[reply]
✓ Done. Thank you, Cl3phact0 (talk) 19:44, 6 May 2024 (UTC)[reply]

From the same source as the second upload (above), there are two other images that could help improve the article: a menu from the 1920s; and a post-card from the same era. Are these acceptable on Commons, and if so, what criteria/licences need be applied? -- Cl3phact0 (talk) 07:48, 7 May 2024 (UTC)[reply]

@Cl3phact0: , the menu image is {{PD-ineligible}}. For the postcard, do you have access to the backside of it? It might be OK, but I want to make sure the photographer is not credited on the back. Abzeronow (talk) 16:09, 7 May 2024 (UTC)[reply]
@Abzeronow: This is the only source I know of, and it only shows the one side. The postcard does contain a partial (cropped) version of the same photo that's already been uploaded and is said to be of Di Lelio in front of the restaurant circa 1914 (left image), if that's any help. -- Cl3phact0 (talk) 18:13, 7 May 2024 (UTC)[reply]

Before this note scrolls to the archive, any further advice or consensus re: the Alfredo postcard? [NB: I'm unlikely to add it to the enwiki w:Fettuccine Alfredo article, which now includes the other two images, although if the copyright is ok, I'm happy to go ahead and upload it here.] Cheers,

photo of a gallery exhibit?[edit]

In 2013, the Lillstreet Gallery replicated feminist cartoonist Nicole Hollander's living room for an exhibit they called "Will You Step Into My Parlour?" I attended and took several photos and was going to post them to Wikimedia Commons in order to add at least one to the Nicole Hollander Wikipedia entry. However, I paused on the question that asked whether the work of others was visible in the photo. Because it recreated her living room, the walls include some of her "Sylvia" cartoons as works-in-progress. Don't want to fall afoul of copyright issues. What do you think? Engmaj (talk) 15:40, 6 May 2024 (UTC)[reply]

@Engmaj: At worst, copyrighted material can be covered by a Gaussian blur. Take a look at what I did to the paintings in File:Georgetown Rainier malt house interior 02 - blurred.jpg. - Jmabel ! talk 17:18, 6 May 2024 (UTC)[reply]
On the other hand, the whole recreated living room might be considered a copyrightable work of art, in which case you would be out of luck. - Jmabel ! talk 17:19, 6 May 2024 (UTC)[reply]
Good point. Maybe I will give the gallery a call. Appreciate the input. Engmaj (talk) 23:47, 9 May 2024 (UTC)[reply]
Thanks. Not sure I have the technical skills or software to do that, but I appreciate the suggestion. May reach out to you again if I want to try it. Much appreciated. Engmaj (talk) 23:47, 9 May 2024 (UTC)[reply]

Crown copyright and ID cards/passports[edit]

Would someone mind taking a look at File:Gibraltar ID Card (Front).jpg, File:Gibraltar ID Card (Rear).jpg, File:Series C Temporary Passport (UK) - Data page.jpg and File:Series C Temporary Passport (UK) - Cover.jpg because these don't seem to be covered by the license {{PD-UKGov}}. It might also be a good idea to check some of the other recent uploads of this user given the number of licensing related notifications on their user talk page and that many of their uploads are sourced to edisontd.nl. -- Marchjuly (talk) 01:18, 8 May 2024 (UTC)[reply]

Please help: Is this photo in the public domain? What template?[edit]

If I correctly understand this document from the U.S. copyright office, works unpublished as of 1978, with an unknown author, that are at least 120 years old are in the public domain. However, I do not find a template here that exactly matches those conditions; {{PD-old-assumed}} explicitly does not cover U.S. copyright.

This photograph of an American founder of the Washington (USA) city of Centralia is listed as circa 1890. Washington died in 1905, so the latest it could possibly be would mean 120 years is a year or so from now; however, I think the source is reliable for an estimate within a few years. (And the subject does not look to be in his mid-80s.)

So: (1) Assuming the asserted facts (including creation prior to 1904), am I correct to understand it is in the public domain in the U.S.? (2) If so, what template should I apply when uploading it? And (3) Is the assumption in (1) safe from the perspective of Commons policy? -Pete Forsyth (talk) 04:13, 8 May 2024 (UTC)[reply]

Without knowing the publishing history, this could run afoul of some quirks in U.S. copyright law. As I understand it:
  • If (as I suspect) it was published more or less contemporaneously, it is PD. In particular, if it was published no later than the end of 1928, it is PD.
  • If it was first published 1929 through 1977 without a copyright notice, it is PD.
  • If it was first published 1929 through 1963 with a copyright notice, but copyright was not renewed, it is PD.
  • If it was first published 1978 through 28 February 1989 without notice, and without subsequent registration within 5 years, it is PD.
  • If it was not published until 2003 or later, given that even due diligence will not tell us who took the photo it would be in the public domain 120 years after creation, which seems safe. However, if the photographer can be determined, it would be p.m.a. + 70: if the photographer was alive in 1954, it would still be copyrighted.
  • If it was first published 1929-1977 with copyright notice, and copyrights were properly renewed as relevant, then it would still be copyrighted.
  • If it was first published 1978 through 28 February 1989 with notice/registration it is copyrighted at least until 2049.
  • If it was first published 1 March 1989-2002, it is copyrighted at least until 2049.
(Someone actually expert is welcome to edit the above if I'm wrong; please use strikethrough for deletion & bolding for addition to make your edits clear.)
So if we can find it published before 1929 our life is a lot simpler. - Jmabel ! talk 05:28, 8 May 2024 (UTC)[reply]
Thank you. I agree with your analysis, this matches my understanding. The one little detail I'd add is that, as I understand it (and as I believe is stated on the copyright.gov page I linked), everywhere you say published is more precisely stated as legally published with the consent of the copyright holder. So for instance, if somebody came into possession of a box of photos and donated it to the historical society, and the historical society published it or loaned it to somebody who published it without doing an extensive search for any heir etc., that would not establish a copyright date.
I don't know a whole lot about this particular photograph, nor am I deeply invested in uploading it; rather, it's an interesting case to zero in on your fifth bullet point. That's the part I'm interested in; you're absolutely right that this photograph might have been published somewhere, and I'd be hard pressed to prove that it wasn't. But, for a photo that wasn't (e.g., if its provenance is pretty well known, and basically consists of "lived in a shoebox for over a century"), what is the Commons template that would reflect the 120 year rule, with regard to U.S. copyright? -Pete Forsyth (talk) 07:11, 8 May 2024 (UTC)[reply]
Hi, We usually assume that old pictures were published at the time of creation, as leaving the photographer's custody constituted publication. You can use this version, which also covers the US copyright: {{PD-old-assumed-expired}}. Or you can use {{PD-US-unpublished}}, which covers unpublished images from before 1904. Yann (talk) 08:23, 8 May 2024 (UTC)[reply]
Thanks Yann! Appreciate the explanation. I've uploaded the file here. -Pete Forsyth (talk) 20:11, 8 May 2024 (UTC)[reply]
I think what Yann says is a little over-strong, but reasonably applies here. We would not make that assumption about amateur work by someone photographing their own relatives, nor about work of a known individual who is known to have kept massive files of work they did not publish. This looks like professional work intended for sale or publication. - Jmabel ! talk 22:03, 8 May 2024 (UTC)[reply]
@Jmabel: That makes sense, I'll keep it in mind. -Pete Forsyth (talk) 17:30, 9 May 2024 (UTC)[reply]

1930s (and circa) photos by Bassano Ltd[edit]

I have seen various images uploaded, such as File:Bassano_Ltd_-_Pamela_Jackson_(née_Freeman-Mitford).png and File:Bourdillon1932.jpg, under a UK unknown license, yet the author is clearly stated as Bassano (1901-62) and using a {{Not-PD-US-URAA}} template which says it is not valid for post 2012 uploads (the two examples were uploaded recently). This leads me to some confusion around whether this photo is or is not protected by the same author and from around the same time. I'd appreciate if someone knows whether the fact of Bassano Ltd being active until 1962 means the UK-unknown template is invalid, both in terms of authorship and date (post 1954); or, would UK-unknown be valid if the actual individual themself as part of the group is unknown? Bungle (talkcontribs) 17:44, 8 May 2024 (UTC)[reply]

The PD-UK-unknown template would be valid for Bassano works that were published or revealed to the public before 1954. However, anything from Bassano from the 1930s that was uploaded after 2012 would be subject to deletion due to URAA. In the specific case of the GB Stern, you have a 1939 date of creation, and that it was a half-glass negative that was acquired in 1974 (which might be the relevant date as far as publication/reveal to the public) and therefore wouldn't be PD in the UK until 2045 and in the US until 2070. Abzeronow (talk) 18:44, 8 May 2024 (UTC)[reply]
I'll need to double check but I think the UK copyright rules extended from 50 to 70 years in 1988 or 1989. Any anonymous works created and published before 1938 should have become PD on 1 January 1988 and wouldn't be affected by URAA in 1996. Anything created and published in or after 1938 will probably have URAA issues.
There are more complex issues around anonymous UK creations before 1938 that were published after 1938. We would have to investigate those cases to see if URAA restore US copyright in 1996.
In terms of the initial question, the author is normally unknown as the credit line usually gives "Basano," which is not an identifiable person. If the credit line gives "Jon Doe at Basano" then it is no longer anonymous. From Hill To Shore (talk) 20:23, 8 May 2024 (UTC)[reply]
The issue is that as in most (all?) of the EU countries, the UK had a retroactive copyright extension to 70 years before 1996, so any post-1928 images would still be copyrighted in the US. Felix QW (talk) 14:58, 9 May 2024 (UTC)[reply]
It is more complicated than that. The copyright was extended when it was still valid. If the copyright expired, it wasn't renewed. Yann (talk) 15:05, 9 May 2024 (UTC)[reply]
The details are in Art. 16 of these regulations; since there are EEA countries that already had a 70 year term and do not implement the rule of the shorter term (e.g. Germany I believe), this encompasses practically all works that would still be protected by the new rules in the first place. Felix QW (talk) 15:07, 9 May 2024 (UTC)[reply]
Anyway, the details depend from country to country, since the copyright terms were different. At least, that's the case for France. Yann (talk) 16:19, 9 May 2024 (UTC)[reply]
The EU restorations were retroactive -- they brought back into copyright expired works. However some countries did that before the URAA date, and some did it after (meaning the previous law matters for the URAA). The UK did it on the URAA date itself, which unfortunately means the longer, restored terms matter for URAA calculations. Carl Lindberg (talk) 17:36, 9 May 2024 (UTC)[reply]
At least France didn't restore expired works when it passed the new law. That's why French anonymous works published before 1936 or whose authors died before 1936 were not restored by URAA. Yann (talk) 17:56, 9 May 2024 (UTC)[reply]
Yes, France did, but in 1997. In the law implementing the change, Article 16, they say: The provisions of Title II of this Law shall not have the effect of reviving rights in works, performances, fixations or programs that passed into the public domain before July 1, 1995, unless they were still protected on that date in at least one other Member State of the European Community. I don't think we have identified any type of work which was not protected in the European Community on that date, less than the current EU norms. Several countries had been 70pma for a long time before that (and Spain had been 80pma). The EU directive forced the restoration; that wording is right from the directive. The French law goes on to list limitations of owners of revived rights, so some works certainly were brought back from expired status. The timing matters for the URAA, so any works still expired by the old law on the 1996 URAA date remained PD in the US. France did have the wartime copyright extensions so their terms were more like 58 years and some months on the URAA date. Carl Lindberg (talk) 18:12, 9 May 2024 (UTC)[reply]
The original UK term was 50 years from creation, regardless of author. The UK extended terms at one point, but did not extend expired works. But they then implemented the retroactive EU extensions on January 1, 1996 itself. That meant that the retroactive terms were active on the URAA date (which was the same day). So on that day, the image got restored in both the UK and the US. Alexander Bassano died in 1913 (and retired in 1903), so anything with only a corporate credit is basically anonymous (Bassano Ltd is a company, not a person, and 70pma terms are based on the human author's life). The term for those is 70 years from publication, or 70 years from creation if not published in those first 70 years. The NPG collections are a bit problematic if they are from glass negatives (like these two), since we don't know they were published at the time. If not, they may have only been published upon donation in the 1970s and the 70 years may run from then, so there might be a UK copyright still. The NPG also has images made from silver bromide prints; those were obviously published at the time so ones done in the 1930s would be PD-UK-unknown now (even if restored by the URAA in the US). Carl Lindberg (talk) 17:34, 9 May 2024 (UTC)[reply]

Thanks for the comments on this. I still remain a little unsure, especially as this was a 1939 creation, but that without evidence of publishing before the NPG got it in 1974, would we have to work with the latter date? In which case, in the UK, are we looking 1974+70yrs because it may just slip out of the URAA exception by a year or so? It sounds like we'd have to go with an unknown author if we only know the group of photographers rather than individual, but I can't discern if this means we're talking about a now PD image or not. Bungle (talkcontribs) 19:41, 9 May 2024 (UTC)[reply]

Yes, we have deleted several Bassano images on that reasoning in the past. I'm sure we have also kept many under the PD-UK-unknown hope they were made available to the public at the time (which is the term in the UK law, and is easier than attaining "publication"). Most works were made to be published, and we often assume they were, but photo negatives from an archive make me nervous. If Bassano took 4-5 photos but only actually marketed 1-2, then the others remained unpublished. Which ones did the NPG then put on their website? It is somewhat of a judgement call, if we think this doubt rises to "significant", per COM:PRP. Anything less than 95 years old is almost definitely not OK in the U.S., so should also be deleted on those grounds, though that has also been inconsistent in the past. Lots of gray area when it comes to negatives from photo archives, unfortunately. Carl Lindberg (talk) 21:24, 9 May 2024 (UTC)[reply]

CCTV screenshots and US copyright law[edit]

Does anyone know anything about the copyright status of CCTV and security camera screenshots under US copyright law? There's discussion on going over at English Wikipedia about the copyright status of en:File:Two suspects wanted by the FBI for the bombing.jpg and whether the file should be relicensed as {{PD-automated}}. The image seems to have been made public by the en:FBI, but it doesn't seem to have originated with the FBI. It appears to have come from footage taken by a privately installed camera that was subsequently passed on to the FBI. Has there been any US case law related to this type of thing? If there has, then perhaps that information could quickly resolve the English Wikipedia discussion about the file one way or the other. Would this file end up being deleted if it's relicensed as PD and then moved to Commons? -- Marchjuly (talk) 05:29, 9 May 2024 (UTC)[reply]

I don't think it has been tested in court, so no case law. It's arguable either way, and it may depend on the particular details of each situation. As with anything, there has to be human creativity in the U.S., which in these situations is probably limited to the angle and framing chosen (but which may be enough, much like photo snapshots). Whether a camera is CCTV or not is irrelevant in and of itself. In Commons:Deletion requests/File:CCTV video of Francis Scott Key Bridge collapse.webm (still ongoing but that one involves a camera that is actively pointed and zoomed by humans, so a far more likely case of being under copyright), I did find that there is a copyright registration for this video (PA0002103805). So, it is possible it would seem. I'm not sure there is any guidance from the Copyright Office. Carl Lindberg (talk) 14:49, 9 May 2024 (UTC)[reply]
The issue I see with something like this is how exactly to determine the amount of human interaction involved. Since a lot of CCTV systems can be remote controlled and there's no way to know that information with any specific image. I don't see why a CCTV image that was intentionally taken by a control room operator controlling the camera wouldn't be copyrighted though. --Adamant1 (talk) 23:52, 9 May 2024 (UTC)[reply]
The question has never been tested legally either way in the US. The general copyright rule is it must require a human creator and creative input to be copyrighted. So I would say, probably not. IMO, if it is positioned for a particularly artistic purpose, then there is a copyright in the US. If it's just smacked on a building for security purposes and then never moved again probably not. PARAKANYAA (talk) 12:55, 10 May 2024 (UTC)[reply]

"Fair Use" photo[edit]

I'd like to upload a photo to wikimedia commons to use in wikipedia. The photo is owned by the Oklahoma Historical Society and available on their website as part of their digital collections. They mark it as "Fair Use", and I contacted them and they explicitly gave me permission to upload it here and link on wikipedia as long as I cite them.

The photo was taken in 1981 and published in a local newspaper.

Best way to proceed? Not sure how to mark this when uploading, as we have explicit permission but they haven't signified a specific CC license.

Wikipedian-in-Waiting (talk) 18:09, 10 May 2024 (UTC)[reply]

Not possible. The photo is not theirs in the first place, but of that local newspaper. You should contact them and ask them to follow the steps at COM:VRT. That way, the file can be uploaded. Bedivere (talk) 18:15, 10 May 2024 (UTC)[reply]
Got it. Thanks for the quick reply! Wikipedian-in-Waiting (talk) 18:26, 10 May 2024 (UTC)[reply]
@Wikipedian-in-Waiting: Commons doesn't accept fair use content of any type per COM:FAIR; so, if you try to upload the image under such a claim, it will almost certainly and perhaps quite quickly end up being tagged for speedy deletion. The only way that Commons will be able to host such an image is either (1) the copyright holder agrees to give their COM:CONSENT (i.e. agree to to release the image under a free license acceptable to Commons or (2) the image is, for some reason, now considered to be within the public domain (i.e. it either never was or no longer is eligible for copyright protection).
For reference, generally the person taking a photo is considered to be the copyright holder of said photo, and only they can release their work under an acceptable free license. In some cases, a photographer/journalist working for a newspaper might've entered into a en:work-for-hire agreement with their employer which transferred the copyright of any works they created while working for their employer either totally or partially to their employer. Many photographers working for newspapers did (still do?) are sort of freelanchers in the sense that they're paid for providing photos, but they retain all or some of the rights; moreover, many newspapers also get photos from other third-parties (local residents, wire services, photo agnecies, etc.) with which they've entered into some form of contractual agreement allowing them to use the photos. So, if you're able to track down the en:provenance of this photo, you should look for any type of attribution that might help determine who took the photo. If by chance you're unable to find out any more about the photo's provenance, then under US copyright law even photo with and unknown author are still eligible for copyright protection. How long they're eligible depends upon when they were first published or how may years have passed since they were created. An photo taken by an unknown author first published in 2012 would be eligible for copyright protection for 95 years after the date of first publication or 120 years after its creation, whichever is shorter as explained in COM:HIRTLE.
Finally, even though Commons doesn't host fair use content, some of the local Wikipedia projects (e.g. English Wikipedia) do. These project, however, have their own policies and guidelines with respect to such content. Some of these projects have policies in place which are much more restrictive than fair use by design; so, before trying to upload any files to these projects, ou should first determine whether they host such content and then figure out what their policies regarding it are if they do. Information about English Wikipedia's policy can be found here and here, and questions can be asked about it here. -- Marchjuly (talk) 21:55, 10 May 2024 (UTC)[reply]
Thanks for the reply and links so I can understand this better when considering other images! Wikipedian-in-Waiting (talk) 11:56, 11 May 2024 (UTC)[reply]
There is one chance the image might be in the public domain, if it was published without notice before 1 March 1989. If you can find an actual issue of the newspaper using the photograph, and it was published without notice, then it can be safely uploaded. Bedivere (talk) 03:47, 12 May 2024 (UTC)[reply]
What do you mean "without notice"?
The library that owns the image says the photographer is unknown. It was published in a newspaper named Daily Oklahoman, on November 29, 1981. The library did note the caption that ran under the photo, and this seems to be the article, but as you can see the newspaper did not retain the photo with it, with the move online.
Actually one of the last lines of that article, I just notice, gives a Staff Photographer's name even though the photo itself is not there.
That newspaper is still in business. I don't know how the library system came about owning the photos, but they have thousands of them from that newspaper, from the 1880s to 1999. Wikipedian-in-Waiting (talk) 13:02, 12 May 2024 (UTC)[reply]
Adding: I just googled the staff photographer's name thinking I could just ask him. It seems he died in 2022. (But I think the library was holding the photo during his lifetime, not a recent acquisition.) Wikipedian-in-Waiting (talk) 13:07, 12 May 2024 (UTC)[reply]
By publishing without notice means that the newspaper issue that included the photograph did not include a copyright notice saying for example © 2024 Bedivere. All rights reserved. Bedivere (talk) 15:16, 12 May 2024 (UTC)[reply]
Ooh, that's good to know! I went down a few rabbit holes looking at newspaper archives to see if that might work in this case, and couldn't find it explicitly. But I'm keeping that in mind for future - thank you! Wikipedian-in-Waiting (talk) 02:33, 13 May 2024 (UTC)[reply]

Media created by Fars News Agency[edit]

Recently, Fars News Agency had redesigned their site, and they removed the older CC-BY-SA 4.0 notice from their site, and replaced it with "© 1401 Fars, Inc.". The earliest instance of the new design was on Feb 17th according to Wayback Machine.

However, another editor pointed out that some other pages like the photos page(archive) still retain the older CC-BY-SA 4.0 in the footer. Is that redundant, or does it still apply to newer photos? I have updated Template:Fars/en in the meantime. أنون (talk) 19:48, 10 May 2024 (UTC)[reply]

The page you link to has a CC-BY 4.0, not a CC-BY-SA 4.0 in the footer. Besides that, tread lightly. I'd tend to assume they meant to remove it from the whole site. Someone could communicate with them and ask them to clarify.--Prosfilaes (talk) 23:02, 10 May 2024 (UTC)[reply]

Holy Door of St. Peter's Basilica[edit]

Is the Holy Door of the famous basilica in public domain or not? It was apparently inaugurated in 1950, and its sculptor died in 1979. Per COM:FOP Vatican, Vatican City follows the Italian copyright rules, so the restrictive law of Italy (no formal FoP) applies. Unsure if the door can benefit from things like 20-yr protection for works of state et cetera. JWilz12345 (Talk|Contrib's.) 01:48, 11 May 2024 (UTC)[reply]

1968 image free to use?[edit]

This image is hosted by the Huntington Library, but I don’t see any copyright terms listed on the page. BhamBoi (talk) 03:31, 11 May 2024 (UTC)[reply]

I'd so no since it's from an original 35mm slide, which means there's evidence of prior publication. Although you could maybe just upload it anyway and then support the DR if anyone nominates it for deletion. Not that I'm telling you to do that, but then on there's already a bunch of images from slides on here that no one seems to care about even though they have a questionable copyright status. So it's your call... --Adamant1 (talk) 03:38, 11 May 2024 (UTC)[reply]
@Adamant1: please don't advise people to upload images of questionable copyright status just because someone else did. - Jmabel ! talk 03:41, 11 May 2024 (UTC)[reply]
I'm not. That's why I said "Not that I'm telling you to do that." Otherwise I would have just said it's probably PD. Although I think you could make an argument as an ignorant user for uploading something with an ambiguous copyright and then supporting it being deleted later on if it turns out to be. Plenty of people do that all the time on here and one of the reason's I mentioned it is because there's different opinions about if things like photographic slides are technically published or not. --Adamant1 (talk) 03:43, 11 May 2024 (UTC)[reply]
@Adamant1: do you know the term "apophasis"? If not, look it up. - Jmabel ! talk 03:46, 11 May 2024 (UTC)[reply]
@Adamant1: Kodachrome was "slide film", no negative. The existence of a slide proves nothing more than that it was developed. - Jmabel ! talk 03:47, 11 May 2024 (UTC)[reply]
@Jmabel: I'm just letting them know what options are out there. Nowhere have I said I support uploading the image if it's copyrighted or that they should do that. But again, there various opinions on here about if photographic slides have been published or not. So I thought it was worth mentioning even if I don't personally think they are published or that BhamBoi should upload the image. Although since you brought it up, I think there are instances where you could argue a slide is considered a published work. Not that I think any of them apply here though. --Adamant1 (talk) 03:52, 11 May 2024 (UTC)[reply]
@BhamBoi: unless it was published without notice before 1 March 1989, it's hard to see how it could be in the public domain. See Commons:Hirtle chart: there are a lot of possible cases, but any that do not involve that would have it as still in copyright. Jmabel ! talk 03:46, 11 May 2024 (UTC)[reply]
Most of the time, any somewhat modern photo like that will be under copyright. The U.S. has some exceptions though. The only real chance was if it was legally published (without a copyright notice, but none seems to be there) before March 1, 1989. That question is among the more thorny ones in U.S. copyright law, with a lot of gray area. It seems as though the photo comes from the archives of Otis R. Marston, who had his own photos and collected a lot of material writing books. He died in 1979, but not sure when the collection was actually donated. The source names the subject of the photo as the "creator". If the photo had been taken by Marston, it was likely unpublished at least until the collection was donated, if not further. But if it was a photo given to Marston without any distribution restrictions before 1978, there is a decent chance that constituted "general publication". If that gift happened 1978 or later, you'd have to go by the new definition of "publication" in the 1976 Copyright Act. Different sides can make arguments, in whichever way is in their favor. That can be a judgment call for hosting here, if the community feels there is a significant doubt as to the public domain status. There is no explicit license given (in fact the collection page notes other entities you have to get permission from for certain photographic authors in the archives), so being public domain beyond a significant doubt is the only way to host it. I probably would not upload it myself, but unsure how I'd vote if someone else did. It does seem likely the print was given to Marston, and probably before 1978. Carl Lindberg (talk) 18:28, 11 May 2024 (UTC)[reply]

This photo was uploaded in 2010 by user JoelleJay, and credits "Joelle Smart"—presumably the same person—as author. It was shortly thereafter added to a Wikipedia page about a high-school competition called KYVE Apple Bowl (also created by JoelleJay), the caption noting "captain Joelle Smart (holding trophy)". Much as the technical capability exists for JoelleJay to have taken a photograph of herself and her high-school coterie using some sort of camera with timer, it seems more likely that someone else took the photograph and she later uploaded it when creating the page about the high-school competition she participated in. Given this, is the image appropriately licensed? --Usernameunique (talk) 05:16, 11 May 2024 (UTC)[reply]

Yeah this happened when I was a teenager, my dad took the picture and used my Wikipedia account to upload it... Not sure what that means for licensing, but the proper owner of the copyright definitely released it to Commons. JoelleJay (talk) 16:02, 12 May 2024 (UTC)[reply]

John Baker pic: copyright status[edit]

I've found a good pic of John Baker, but the work is copyrighted by The Royal Society; the picture was shot in 1958 by Bassano Ltd. I'm pretty sure it is not OK for Commons, but I ask it anyway.-- Carnby (talk) 17:05, 11 May 2024 (UTC)[reply]

An anonymous photo from the UK, published in 1958, would be public domain there in 2029 and the U.S. in 2054. Royal Society would not own the copyright; they likely published it under a license. Carl Lindberg (talk) 18:33, 11 May 2024 (UTC)[reply]

2023 Kosovar Law on Copyright and Related Rights[edit]

Page that may need updating: COM:CRT/Kosovo.

There appears to be an updated copyright law of Kosovo: the Law No. 8 L-205 on Copyright and Related Rights. It is a major overhaul of their copyright law, aligning their provisions with EU standards.

The terms remain at 70 years (since the law before the implementation of EU standards was already at 70 years p.m.a.).

A promising revision is the Freedom of Panorama. Now found at Article 49(1.12), it bears striking similarity to the EU FoP clause at the EU Copyright Directive (this is also the identical wording of the Portuguese FoP which is also aligned with the EU standards). I found no trace of non-commercial restriction, so far.

But I don't want to celebrate prematurely; someone should confirm if this is indeed the official law now for Kosovo. Can anyone verify by accessing the Albanian text of the 2023 law?

Ping all participants of the CRT/Kosovo talk page: @Bes-ART, Clindberg, Aymatth2, and Arianit: . JWilz12345 (Talk|Contrib's.) 17:26, 11 May 2024 (UTC)[reply]

 Info here is what I consider the official version (in Albanian): [1]. JWilz12345 (Talk|Contrib's.) 17:35, 11 May 2024 (UTC)[reply]

Based on the English version linked, it does look good -- the non-commercial restriction on FoP in their previous law seems to no longer be there. Carl Lindberg (talk) 17:42, 11 May 2024 (UTC)[reply]
@Clindberg I have now updated most of the CRT page (specifically the sections pertaining to the governing law, general rules, not protected, and FoP). I will withdraw three Kosovar DRs that I made yesterday. Kudos to the Kosovar government at introducing FoP that's friendly for new media and I.T. age! JWilz12345 (Talk|Contrib's.) 19:50, 11 May 2024 (UTC)[reply]
The open question now, is if the FoP provision covers murals (and other 2D flat arts) or not. It bears identical resemblance to both COM:FOP Portugal and COM:FOP Moldova, which are patterned after the European Union FoP model, but it appears there is difference in the interpretation with regards to the inclusion of 2D flat arts. JWilz12345 (Talk|Contrib's.) 20:17, 11 May 2024 (UTC)[reply]
English translation published in the official gazzette is fine as refrence. Albanian version has the exactely same content.
Law is already in force. So this is good as well.
Regarding 2D arts: The article speaks about "works" in general. Article 2 doesn't offer a definition of work. So we can only refer to article 1. 1.1 just speaks about "literary, scientific and artistic works" in general. And 1.2 says: "This Law is in full compliance with the following EU Directives." I don't think that the law makes a difference between flat and three-dimensional work, but I don't know all there EU directives. Albinfo (talk) 10:31, 12 May 2024 (UTC)[reply]
@Albinfo the Kosovar FoP bears striking similarity to Moldovan FoP. Both anyway patterned their laws upon EU standards. Portugese FoP has identical FoP word construction, too. However, the Portuguese FoP commentators do not speak of restrictions to uses of 2D works. However, the current interpretation of the Moldovan FoP is that 2D works are excluded, at least as per longtime admin @Jameslwoodward: (see Commons:Village pump/Copyright/Archive/2021/12#FOP Moldova seems to not limit 2D works). Further clarity on the Kosovar FoP treatment on 2D works is needed. JWilz12345 (Talk|Contrib's.) 11:03, 12 May 2024 (UTC)[reply]
The 2D works eligibility should be clarified as soon as possible. I thought w:en:File:Bill Clinton Boulevard2.jpg (which I requested for undeletion) refers to the statue of Bill Clinton, but it turned out to be an outdoor poster (or mural as the uploader claimed). JWilz12345 (Talk|Contrib's.) 12:03, 12 May 2024 (UTC)[reply]
@Albinfo: The EU directive says nothing on 2D vs 3D works. That is up to each country. The phrase used, "such as", is a bit ambiguous in English. The presence of the comma before "such as" most likely means it was not meant to be restrictive and part of the definition, but merely explanatory of common types of works that may apply. Without the comma, it can more easily be read as only applying to those types of works (though even then, it's not definite). James Woodward, in the previous discussion, thought that any ambiguity argued for only allowing that type of work or similar. I did and still do disagree, but it's an understandable argument. I don't know if the Albanian is any more clear on that matter; reading such a technicality into a English translation is a bit nervous. (Even if 2D works are allowed, you can't make a virtual copy of a public 2D work via a photo -- that would prejudice the original work. It would just be showing the original work in its public context.) Carl Lindberg (talk) 04:11, 13 May 2024 (UTC)[reply]
@Clindberg perhaps leave 2D works as "unsure" for the meantime, and "buildings and sculptures" as OK. Anyway, I have requested undeletions of several images, on COM:UNDEL. Perhaps the Kosovar buildings and public sculptures may be the uncontroversial ones to be restored, I'll ping @Yann: who frequents the UNDEL page. JWilz12345 (Talk|Contrib's.) 09:43, 13 May 2024 (UTC)[reply]

Partula otaheitana[edit]

I have uploaded two images [2] and [3] that I have now realized do not have any listed copyright (see [4]). How do I remove them? 0x16w (talk) 03:35, 13 May 2024 (UTC)[reply]

Seems fine to me at first glance, since the observation itself and the parent dataset carry CC0 marks - is there any particular reason you think the images are excluded from the public domain dedication? Felix QW (talk) 08:46, 13 May 2024 (UTC)[reply]
It specifically says on the website that "Be aware that licences applied to images may differ from those applied to occurrence records" (you can confirm this by going to [5] and seeing the small print that says this) 0x16w (talk) 14:40, 13 May 2024 (UTC)[reply]

Films of Romania[edit]

Hi, Does anyone what is the copyright term for films of Romania? Commons:Copyright rules by territory/Romania doesn't mention films. This concerns File:Manasse (1925) by Jean Mihail.webm. It is in the public domain is USA, but may be not in Romania. Thanks, Yann (talk) 13:41, 13 May 2024 (UTC)[reply]

The EU directive is pretty specific and hard for countries to vary; it's 70pma from the latest death of specific contributors. The modern Romanian law (article 66 or 67 depending on version) says: The authors of an audiovisual work, as provided in Article 5 of this Law, are the director or maker, the author of the adaptation, the author of the screenplay, the author of the dialogue, the author of the musical score specially composed for the audiovisual work and the author of the graphic material of animated works or animated sequences, where these represent a substantial part of the work. However, their 1996 law was non-retroactive, and I think Romania got away without making it retroactive when they later joined the EU. The older terms were pretty much 50 pma, but their older law did have: Cinematographic or radio studios and mechanical recording organizations have copyright over the collective works they create. And, the term for a copyright owned by a legal entity was 50 years: the duration of the author's patrimonial right is limited to 50 years from the appearance of the work, if this right belongs to a legal entity (the only exceptions were some specific shorter terms for compilation and photographic copyrights). So, it may hinge on if this was done for a studio, or if it was primarily Jean Mihail himself. If done for a studio, it may have expired by their old law in 1976, and was never restored. If considered a private copyright of Jean Mihail, it may still be under copyright in Romania until 2034. I have no idea what was the norm in Romania film in the 1920s. I can't find many details about the film -- it was a derivative work of an earlier play, but those copyrights would seem to be expired, and Mihail may be the primary contributor. Carl Lindberg (talk) 14:18, 13 May 2024 (UTC)[reply]

YouTube video with two licenses[edit]

I noticed while rewriting an article that two images that I uploaded back in 2021 (File:Ei Wada.png and File:ELECTRONICOS FANTASTICOS! Roppongi Art Night 2019.png) that both had the Creative Commons Attribution license from YouTube, but also had the license CC BY-NC-SA 4.0 in the videos' descriptions. Does the YouTube CC license trump the CC BY-NC-SA 4.0 license, or should it be counted as a CC BY-NC-SA 4.0 video? reppoptalk 23:04, 13 May 2024 (UTC)[reply]

Any time there is more than one license, a reuser can choose a license. So this means that commercial users are stuck with a CC-SA 2.0 license, but non-commercial users can opt for CC BY-NC-SA 4.0. Our page should probably mention both. - Jmabel ! talk 01:44, 14 May 2024 (UTC)[reply]

Films of Japan[edit]

Hi, According to PD-Japan-film, Japanese film copyright expired for all films produced in Japan prior to 1953. But until which date these are in the public domain in USA? Thanks, Yann (talk) 09:10, 14 May 2024 (UTC)[reply]