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Wikipedia:Copyright problems

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This is an old revision of this page, as edited by Angela (talk | contribs) at 19:02, 3 November 2003 (Erik Weihenmayer). The present address (URL) is a permanent link to this revision, which may differ significantly from the current revision.


Add links to pages that you suspect of being copyright infringements here. If you list a page here, be sure to follow the instructions in the "Copyright infringement notice" section below. Page titles should stay listed for a minimum of 7 days before a decision is made.

In addition to nominating potential copyvios for deletion, you could:

  • Replace the article's text with new (re-written) content of your own: This can be done on a temp page, so that the original "copyvio version" may be deleted by a sysop. Temp versions should be written at a page like: [[Talk:PAGE NAME/temp]]. If the original turns out to be not a copyvio, these two can be merged. Write to the owner of the copyright to check whether they gave permission (or maybe they in fact posted it here!). You can also ask for permission too - see wikipedia:boilerplate request for permission.

See also: Wikipedia:Votes for deletion, Wikipedia:Deletion policy, Wikipedia:Copyrights, Wikipedia:Copyright violations on history pages

If you believe Wikipedia is infringing your content, you may choose to raise the issue using this page and the standard copyright infringement notice as described below. Alternatively, you may choose to contact Wikipedia's designated agent under the terms of the Online Copyright Infringement Liability Limitation Act.

Note that Wikipedians do not have the ability to remove copyright infringements from an article's page history. Therefore, if you believe that material in an article's page history infringes your copyright, you should contact Wikipedia's designated agent, rather than using this page.

Remove the text of the article, and replace it with the following text. Replace PAGE NAME with the name of the page that you're editing, and replace ADDRESS with the Web address (or book or article reference) that contains the original source text.

Removed possible [[Wikipedia:Copyrights|copyright infringement]]. Text that was previously posted here is the same as text from this source:
:ADDRESS

This page is now listed on [[Wikipedia:Possible copyright infringements]]. To the poster: If there was permission to use this material under terms of our [[Wikipedia:Text of the GNU Free Documentation License|license]] or if you are the copyright holder of the externally linked text, then please indicate so on [[Talk:PAGE NAME|the talk page]]. If there was no permission to use this text then please rewrite the page at:
:[[Talk:PAGE NAME/temp]]

or leave this page to be deleted. Deletion will occur about one week from the time this page title was placed on the Votes for deletion page. If a temp page is created, it will be moved here following deletion of the original.

It also should be noted that the posting of copyrighted material that does ''not'' have the express permission from the copyright holder is possibly in violation of applicable law and of our [[wikipedia:copyright|policy]]. Those with a history of violations may be temporarily [[Special:Ipblocklist|suspended]] from editing pages. If this is in fact an infringement of copyright, we still welcome any original contributions by you.

Thanks, ~~~~

Notice for images

This image is a possible [[Wikipedia:Copyrights|copyright infringement]] and should therefore not be used by any article. <explain reason for suspicion here>
This image is now listed on [[Wikipedia:Possible copyright infringements]]. To the poster: If there was permission to use this image under terms of our [[Wikipedia:Text of the GNU Free Documentation License|license]] or if you are its copyright holder, then please indicate so here (click ''Edit this page'' in the sidebar) - see our [[wikipedia:image use policy|image use policy]] for tips on this. NOTE: deletion will occur about one week from the time this page title was placed on the Votes for deletion page.
It also should be noted that the posting of copyrighted material that does ''not'' have the express permission from the copyright holder is possibly in violation of applicable law and of our [[wikipedia:copyright|policy]]. Those with a history of violations may be temporarily [[Special:Ipblocklist|suspended]] from editing pages. If this is in fact an infringement of copyright, we still welcome any original contributions by you.
If you believe that this image may be used by Wikipedia and by all sublicensees under the [[fair use]] doctrine, then please add a detailed ''fair use rationale'' as described on [[wikipedia:image description page]] to justify this belief.
Thanks, ~~~~

Notes and issues outstanding

Please note that articles from http://www.conigliofamily.com are not copyvios. These pages are licensed under the GFDL and they are being submitted the person who owns the site.

Sept 12: Image:Somalia mappa.jpg deleted but see also uploaded others to be checked (listed by andy 11:25, 12 Sep 2003 (UTC))

Sept 29th: Stjepan Mesic. Talk page says "Page was on free source, not protected by copyright". Needs to be checked. Angela

Check [1] for further possible copyvios.

Images awaiting deletion

For some reason images can not be deleted at the moment. The following have been listed for over a week and await deletion: image:Statua_Romana_Milano_001.jpg, image:Sant'Arderico_Milano.jpg, image:San_Francesco_Milano.jpg, image:San_Carlo_Borromeo_Milano.jpg, image:Oldrado_Da_Trasseno_Milano.jpg, image:Napoleone_I_Milano.jpg, image:Monumento_Cinque_Giornate_Milano.jpg, image:Monumento_a_Mazzini_Milano.jpg, image:Il_Grande_Toscano_Milano.jpg, image:Grande_Scultura_Mirò_Milano.jpg, image:Fontana_di_Piermarini_Milano.jpg, image:Dromaius_novaehollandiae_uovo.jpg, image:Disco_di_Pomodoro_Milano.jpg, image:Decimo_Magno_Ausonio_Milano.jpg, image:Costantino_imperatore_Milano.jpg, image:Casuarius_casuarius_uovo.jpg, image:Alessandro_Manzoni_Milano.jpg, image:Cat_espl.jpg, image:congress.jpg, image:palacio_planalto_mini.jpg, Image:Strait of gibraltar.jpg, Image:HumpbackWhaleLeaping.jpg, Image:Star WR124.jpg, Image:Star WR124 small.jpg, Image:Colliding supernovae.png, Image:Colliding supernovae small.png. Image:Marseilles.jpg, Image:Arc de Triomphe.jpg, Image:Sartre2.jpg, Image:NikiLaudaFI.jpg, Image:AyrtonSennaFI.jpg, Image:JuanManuelFangio.jpg, Image:AlbertoAscariFI.jpg, Image:BobbyHull.jpg, Image:JosephFourier.jpg, Image:GeorgiusSinger.jpg, Image:JamesNorrisTrophy.jpg, Image:ConnSmytheTrophy.jpg, Image:ArtRossTrophy.jpg, Image:VezinaTrophy.jpg, Image:EmilArtin.jpg, Image:SteffiGrafftennis.JPG, Image:DonBudgeTennis.jpg, Image:DavidAhenakew.jpg, Image:MargaretCourt.jpg, Image:MaureenConnolly.JPG, Image:Philipjohnson.jpg, Image:M87 blackhole hubble.jpg, Image:Ayutthaya.jpg, Image:Natalie_portman.jpg, Image:Chaak.jpg, Image:Vanessa carlton.jpg, Image:Martov_2.jpg, Image:Halston.jpg, Image:Mellophone large.jpg, Image:äº?æ´²å?¨å??.gif, Image:Surte overview map.png, image:Rusfedmapcities.jpg, Image:Rthk bldg.jpg, Image:NeveCampbell.jpg Image:NeveCampbell.jpeg Image:MonicaBellucci.jpeg Image:LeeLeeSobieski.jpg Image:KatieHolmes.jpg Image:LucyLawless.jpeg.jpg Image:JillClayburgh.jpeg Image:CarolineCossey.jpeg Image:OntarioPremierDaltonMcGuinty.jpeg.jpg Image:Akiross.jpg Image:Britneeeeeee.jpg Image:Josephinebaker.jpeg Image:Livtyler.jpeg Image:Elishacuthbert.jpeg Image:Alysonhannigan.jpeg Image:Gilliananderson.jpg Image:Marykateandashley.jpeg Image:Jessicaalba.jpeg Image:Jessicasimpson.jpeg Image:Christinaaguilera.jpeg Image:Tatyanaali.jpeg Image:Cateblanchett.jpeg Image:Katewinslet.jpeg Image:Hilaryduff.jpeg Image:Dianelane.jpeg Image:Cleaduvall.jpeg Image:Beyonceknowles.jpeg Image:Audreytautou.jpeg Image:Annapaquin.jpeg Image:Aliciasilverstone.jpeg Image:Michelletrachtenberg.jpeg Image:Reneezellweger.jpg Image:Rebeckaliljeberg.jpeg Image:Christinaricci.jpeg Image:Thorabirch.jpeg Image:Lucyliu.jpeg Image:Sircharlesfitzpatrick.jpeg, Image:Bacon.jpg, Image:Aneuron.gif

October 20

from images for deletion

  • The picture of Margaret Sinclair Trudeau, Image:Margaret Trudeau.jpg - Nightcrawler uploaded it and states that "photo scanned from Book cover. Used in Wikipedia under "Fair Use" provisions of a public personality.". Is that a valid "fair use" provision? I wouldn't think so. What do you guys think? Xamian 04:21, 20 Oct 2003 (UTC)
    • It's not part of the fair use guideline. Not at all. It's not hard to get permission and we need to pay attention to the law. It needs to be removed. Daniel Quinlan 07:59, Oct 20, 2003 (UTC)
    • IANAL. It's relevant to fair use#Purpose_and_character and fair use#Nature_of_the_work: public figures are suitable targets for reportage, and a portrait photo of a public figure is afforded less protecton. Martin 22:20, 20 Oct 2003 (UTC)
      • Reportage is somewhat different than copying. See below for the rest of my concern. Daniel Quinlan 02:32, Oct 21, 2003 (UTC)
        • Fair Use is not limited to the Internet. Currently Tuff-Cat and others scan music albums and have posted them here at Wikipedia. Similarly, there are many other book covers here. NightCrawler 21:52, 20 Oct 2003 (UTC)
          • I think it's definitely in a gray area for fair use. What other people do is no justification. It would be better to get permission. Daniel Quinlan 02:32, Oct 21, 2003 (UTC)
    • IANAL The picture looks like a copyright infringement candidate for derived commercial works. The scene is composed (background, makeup and clothing selection, font choice and positioning for the text). That's creative, published, somewhat against fair use. More than required is used (head shot is all we need), argues for infringement. That's two of four factors somewhat against fair use, so a commercial reuser of Wikipedia material may have a problem even if we don't in print Wikipedia. Replacing it with a candid shot would be better - see thescene a faire principle. JamesDay 16:50, 23 Oct 2003 (UTC)
    • JamesDay has convinced me that the current version is not fair use. Perhaps it could be kept if Nightcrawler (or someone else) cropped it and faded out the background? Then we're reducing the creativity of the result, and it's a more transformative use of the work - both plus points for fair use. Martin 17:43, 25 Oct 2003 (UTC)
      • Well cropped seems OK enough, though the makeup work and possible retouching still is less safe than an ad hoc shot. This is one where our lack of finer tagging for images hurts us. It's being worked on (slowly:)) and hopefully will let us use more richly online while letting us and others filter for other uses.JamesDay 17:08, 26 Oct 2003 (UTC)


  • Nightcrawler also posted Image:JeffreyD.jpg (linked off of Jeffrey Dahmer, stating that the photo is fair use because it is on a whole bunch of websites. Is that a valid reason?
    • Nope! Just because an image has been illegally copied many times (this is the internet we're talking about) does not render it okay to copy. Daniel Quinlan 07:59, Oct 20, 2003 (UTC)
    • IANAL. It's relevant to fair use#Effect_upon_work's_value - effect is reduced if there are many other copies. Martin 22:18, 20 Oct 2003 (UTC)
      • I realize that, but I'm concerned about fair use#Nature of the work. These are original photographs by professional photographers. I'm also concerned about fair use#Amount and substantiality since these are very short articles. fair use#Effect upon work's value is also a concern, even with the multiple copies running around, if Wikipedia could be construed as competing with other places where these photographs are used (for example, a biography). Maybe it's okay, but it seems like a very gray area to me and I think it would have been better (and perhaps continues to be a better option) to get permission. Daniel Quinlan 02:32, Oct 21, 2003 (UTC)
      • There's a pragmatic argument here. Professional photographers are quite inclined to sue if there's even a sniff of maybe, just possibly, infringing use. However, just how many ways were there to photograph him at his trial? Room for creativity is quite limited. Is this copyrightable at all? Cropping a bit more tightly might be a good idea. Suggest asking for the advice of a real IP lawyer before acting on this one - it's an interesting question which will affect quite a lot of articles. JamesDay 17:46, 26 Oct 2003 (UTC)
    • A google for Jeffrey Dahmer Mugshot produces a perfectly good mugshot, which is at least as (I'd argue more) relevant than the existing, debated, photo. I'm assuming that (as government documents) mugshots aren't a problem, so why don't we swap the mugshot in and zap the debateable one? -- Finlay McWalter 02:05, 2 Nov 2003 (UTC)



October 28

  • Roadshow from [3]. andy 09:15, 28 Oct 2003 (UTC)
    • Seems to have been fixed. --Minesweeper 10:50, Oct 31, 2003 (UTC)
    • I wrote most of the current text of the article. I paraphrased and summarized (I did not copy) the text from the company's website. So I don't think it should carry the notice anymore. —Frecklefoot 17:22, 31 Oct 2003 (UTC)

October 29

  • Mirza Ghulam Ahmad, original version was claimed to be from England The Review of Religions, December 1996, which appears to be a magazine. Evil saltine 07:38, 29 Oct 2003 (UTC)
  • Recidivism - article said it is the "American Heritage Dictionary Defintion of Recidivism", thus a copyrighted source. If not it belongs to Wiktionary anyway. andy 14:42, 29 Oct 2003 (UTC)

October 30

October 31

  • PENO from [16]. Angela 01:49, Oct 31, 2003 (UTC)
  • Herbert Huncke. From [17]. RickK 04:54, 31 Oct 2003 (UTC)
  • John Clellon Holmes from [18] --Jiang 04:56, 31 Oct 2003 (UTC)
  • Volund from [19],[20] --Minesweeper 10:50, Oct 31, 2003 (UTC)
  • Eduardo Marturet from [21] andy 12:46, 31 Oct 2003 (UTC)
  • GKS from [22]. Angela 13:38, Oct 31, 2003 (UTC)
    • non-infinging rewrite at /temp. JamesDay 04:22, 1 Nov 2003 (UTC)
  • Nonagram from [23]: can I list this as a possible? The wording is not identical but suspiciously similar. I've put a warning on the talk page (I don't feel confident enough to go deleting stuff yet). Phil 16:30, Oct 31, 2003 (UTC)
    • Is this long enough to not be considered fair use even if it is a copy? It might meet the guideline. It's hard to see how this could be written much more differently. Daniel Quinlan 08:01, Nov 2, 2003 (UTC)
      • The actual definition, I will grant, could not reasonably be written very differently; that's the first sentence which ironically enough is slightly different. However the second sentence, which is more editorial, is identical. I was aware that this was a very short article; however I was on a tight deadline and was unable to confirm whether this might have been part of a series. Thus I listed it here as a possible and requested that someone with more time and expertise (not to mention a more-responsive link) confirm my hypothesis. Phil 12:11, Nov 3, 2003 (UTC)
  • Borsippa from [24]. Angela 21:25, Oct 31, 2003 (UTC)
  • Economics in One Lesson from [25]. JeLuF 22:27, 31 Oct 2003 (UTC)
  • Malofuerte from [26] Jwrosenzweig 22:57, 31 Oct 2003 (UTC)
  • History of Tibet from [27] - original text copied on 17 March 2003, some slight modification to it has been made, but the bulk of it remains. --Jiang 10:14, 1 Nov 2003 (UTC)

November 1

  • Wayne Newton from [[28]] (in parts) -- JeLuF 19:40, 1 Nov 2003 (UTC)
    • Give me a break...I paraphrased everything in the article.
      • No you didn't - compare "Newton became the king of Las Vegas by the 1980s; he won the Entertainer of the Year award more than any other performer, set a record as the highest-paid nightclub performer in history, bought the Aladdin casino, and managed enough spare time to win an international award for his most active hobby, the breeding of Arabian stallions." and "Newton became the king of Las Vegas by the 1980s. He set a record as the top paid nightclub entertainer in history, was awarded Entertainer of the Year more than any other performer, purchased the Aladdin casino, and managed enough spare time to win an international award for his most active hobby, the breeding of Arabian stallions. ". Changing sentence boundaries isn't good enough. Delete. Morwen 20:25, 2 Nov 2003 (UTC)
    • "Newton became the king of Las Vegas by the 1980s. He set a record as the top paid nightclub entertainer in history, was awarded Entertainer of the Year more times than any other performer, purchased the Aladdin casino, and even won an international accolade for his favorite activity, the breeding of Arabian horses." (Is that better?)

November 2

  • Coalition_of_Modern_Universities from [30]. Someone said they couldn't see the resemblence - i think
    • Modern universities are those higher education institutions incorporated in 1992 and subsequently centrally funded by Government in the same way as traditional universities through the Higher Education Funding Councils. Although sometimes described as "new" universities, many have long histories as colleges and subsequently polytechnics.
  • and
    • The term "Modern Universities" describes those universities and other institutions of higher education that were incorporated in 1992, and subsequently became funded by central Government in the same way as traditional universities. Although sometimes described as "new" universities, many have long histories as colleges and polytechnics.
  • look pretty damn similar to me. But hey, what do I know? Morwen 00:04, 2 Nov 2003 (UTC)

November 3

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