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Wikipedia:Copyright problems

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This is an old revision of this page, as edited by Maximus Rex (talk | contribs) at 03:40, 14 January 2004. 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, Wikipedia:Image description page, Wikipedia:Request for immediate removal of copyright violation, Wikipedia:Confirmation of permission, Wikipedia:Sites that use Wikipedia for content

If you believe Wikipedia is infringing your copyright, 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

Please do not edit this page until the copyright issue is resolved, even if you are rewriting it (follow the instructions below).

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 so indicate 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 [[Wikipedia:Possible copyright infringements]] 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 of the copyright holder is possibly in violation of applicable law and of our [[wikipedia:copyrights|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, ~~~~

November 29

  • The following are orphans and possible copyvios. Their current format would not be acceptable anyway and the uploader of these seems to have left: Image:Basalflangeturtlebird.jpg, Image:Codexplate.jpg, Image:Codexshaman.jpg, Image:Incisedserpant.jpg, Image:Preclassicvesels.jpg, Image:Regional-Chevron.jpg, Image:Regional-Chochola.jpg, Image:Screwtopvessel.jpg, Image:Tabascovessel.jpg, Image:Trimamimfrom.jpg. Angela 20:50, 29 Nov 2003 (UTC)
    • Except for Image:Preclassicvesels.jpg these are not copyrightable in US law because they are accurate mechanical reproductions of works which are out of copyright, with no creative lighting or other creative input. Not fair use - no copyright at all, so not even a need to consider fair use. Image:Preclassicvesels.jpg is not photographic but it appears to be a scientifically accurate hand reproduction of the works and my view is that it is properly treated in the same way as the mechanical reproductions and hence not copyrightable either. (added: this opinion is in part based on a case where an architectural drawing was described as only copyrightable if it had creativity - if it was simply accurate, it wouldn't be copyrightable) Given the way we're having troubles with links right now I'll try some searching for articles relting to Mayan civilisation to see if there are uses of these images out there. Jamesday 12:57, 2 Dec 2003 (UTC)
    • I've used several of these at Maya ceramics, where the edit history shows that the uploader apparently intended them to be used. I'll list on images for deletion any I don't eventually add to that page after editing them as required to make sure that they are suitable for presence here. Most are suitable, once text removal and cropping has been done. Jamesday 18:26, 7 Dec 2003 (UTC)




December 6

  • Image:MissVan041.jpg no source or copyright information given. Maximus Rex 05:40, 6 Dec 2003 (UTC)
    • As a thumbnail image in a biography of the artist, this one looks like easy fair use. Jamesday 19:24, 7 Dec 2003 (UTC)
    • It is 410 x 600 (at least that is the size it displays at on my computer), which is larger than a thumbnail. Fair use should be declared, not assumed. Using copyrighted images under the guise that it's fair use if 'we say so' could potentially get wikipedia into trouble, while deleting the image would avoid such unnecessary potential problems. Maximus Rex 08:35, 3 Jan 2004 (UTC)


December 10

Author has posted the following "Hi, I'm Jonathan Broxton, the copyright holder of the info on this page from the Movie Music UK website. I hereby give full permission for it to be used as the details for this composer (as I posted it myself!)" Secretlondon 15:53, Dec 10, 2003 (UTC)


December 17


December 21

December 23

  • RMS Lusitania is largely identical to [11], which claims that the material comes from a 1993 book. This material predates the last automatic conversion, so there is no way to find the original submitter. User:Diderot Dec 23 22:30:32 CET
    • Has had a lot of edits since the original submission, so we should figure out what can be salvaged. At the very least, the image has to be out of copyright by now, so could be used in a rewrite. I'll ask on the village pump to see if anyone knowledgeable is willing to do a rewrite. --Delirium 23:16, Jan 7, 2004 (UTC)


January 2

  • Clinton-Gore Administration contains verbatim passages from [12], not sure if all is a copy vio or just parts. Maximus Rex 04:18, 2 Jan 2004 (UTC)
    • The same text also exists in the history of Clinton Administration, which currently redirects to Bill Clinton. Maximus Rex 04:22, 2 Jan 2004 (UTC)
    • The link on the C-G page clearly states that it is from a public domain. The McNair article was written by me this time, not JockBios. What is the problem? McNair article is now a new one written by me. Clinton Gore administration text come verbatim from Wikipedia's passage on 1992 election here: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/U.S._presidential_election,_1992 --ChrisDJackson
    • Delete and redirect to Bill Clinton (where clinton administration redirect). It's inapporiate, even if not copyvio, since it's a biography of Bill Clinton. --Jiang 07:56, 2 Jan 2004 (UTC)
    • If it was from a government site, please give us the link. We should not cross-post wikipedia content in different places. --Jiang
      • The US National Archives and Records Office archive of the Clinton Whitehouse page at [13] is the source of the accompishments portion of the article. It is a US federal government work, so is in the public domain. Jamesday 10:46, 8 Jan 2004 (UTC)
    • The Clinton-Gore page better not get deleted. We can have one of each admin over time. That page has nothing to do with Bill Clinton's bio. It clearly states the elections and their accomplishments/appointments/legislation, ect. I have already gave the link and it is on the page itself: http://usinfo.state.gov/usa/infousa/facts/history/ch13.htm#1992
      • Agreed on keeping it and having one of these for each administration, though it seems unlikely that an archived copy of a Clinton-Gore whitehouse accomplishments page presented a neutral point of view, so the article does need NPOV work. :) Jamesday 10:46, 8 Jan 2004 (UTC)
    • Which specific portions need blanking as possible copyright infringements - there's no apparent possibility that the whole page is one, so it doesn't all need to be removed. Absent a specific possibly infringing passage to consider (and remove if infringing), this looks to me like political opponents of Clinton trying to get a useful article about the administration (rather than the person) removed through a bogus infringement claim. Jamesday 23:54, 4 Jan 2004 (UTC)


January 6

January 7

  • John M. Harlan, "biography" section is from [22] (there is a little more content, but it may also be copied from elsewhere, and in any case, it doesn't amount to an article). --Camembert 19:44, 7 Jan 2004 (UTC)

January 8

  • The second paragraph from the C. Y. O'Connor article seems to come word for word from [25]. Arno 09:22, 8 Jan 2004 (UTC)
  • Image:Harold ford.jpg looks like a cropped screenshot of CNN. (boilerplate not added) Is it a copyvio? --Jiang 03:58, 9 Jan 2004 (UTC)
I think so. His office will undoubtedly be happy to supply a picture...:) Jamesday 12:12, 10 Jan 2004 (UTC)

January 9

January 10

Looks fine, per the discussion on the image page and what appears to be intended as a license. Looks like fair use otherwise - it's a press release in effect, when used in the way the group intends it to be used (complete). Hard not to use this in a way which isn't fair use, so long as the image is intact, so this would apply to most reusers of the content as well. Getting explicit permission, which appears to be under way, is also good, even if not really required, IMO. Jamesday 12:41, 10 Jan 2004 (UTC)

January 11

(and previously deleted as a copyvio)
    • I agree - this looks to be too closely paraphrased - closely enough that I think it may infringe. Too much scope for alternative expressions for me to consider this to be unprotectable. Same facts, less closely paraphrased, would be fine. Jamesday 11:03, 13 Jan 2004 (UTC)

January 12

January 13

  • Longevity myths from the Guinness Book of World Records. Much of the content in the bottom half of the page is copied verbatim from the printed book's section on Human Longevity. E.g., The most extreme claim in the 20th century was a wire service story announcing in 1933 that a Chinese man, Li Chung-yun, born in 1680, had died at age 256 (mathematical error as in original). I remembered this example and wording from my childhood. BCorr ¤ Брайен 01:57, 13 Jan 2004 (UTC)

Seems he was talked to by Jimbo in May 2001. Maximus Rex 04:33, 13 Jan 2004 (UTC)

  • 203.59.171.56 is submitting a lot of articles that appear to be copied from [77] but Jamesday might regard these as acceptable as they are largely lists of facts so I haven't bothered putting the copyvio boilerplates on them. Angela. 06:36, Jan 13, 2004 (UTC)
    • There's not a lot of non-factual material there and what there is between the facts seems in the samples I've seen not to be very likely to be creative or, alternatively, to be so difficult to express differently in about the same number of simple words that protecting it would unacceptably limit expression by others. I wouldn't choose to mention any of those I looked at as copyright infringements. You might ask Alex what he thinks - the point at which lists of facts in minimalist flowing sentences can become creative and distinct enough to protect is one where I haven't yet read as many decisions as I would like and he may disagree or may know of a decision which would cause me to have a different view myself. Meanwhile, I've tried an alternative sugar tack on the talk page of the contributor, which might get us more comprehensive and assuredly non-infringing articles. I'm not really keen on simple copying, particularly not from non-PD sources, regardless of whether I think it's infringement or not. Jamesday 10:47, 13 Jan 2004 (UTC)

January 14

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