User:Wikiacc/Differences between Commons and local image policy

This list is not exhaustive and as community consensus evolves (at both wikis) it will go out of date.

Public domain

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Not PD in source country

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If the source country has no copyright treaty with the US, both follow the source country.

Otherwise:

en policy: files need not be PD in the source country as long as they are PD in the US

Commons policy: files must be PD in the source country

  • Statements of policy: c:COM:PD
  • Can't find any definitions of "source country"

US patents

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en policy: US patents published without a copyright notice are public domain, regardless of date

Commons policy: US patents published after March 1, 1989 are not public domain

URAA

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en policy: URAA-restored images are not allowed, except when the copyright holder has announced that expiration applies worldwide (Template:PD-Canada, Template:PD-AustraliaGov)

  • Statements of policy: Template:PD-URAA, many (though not all) of the PD-country templates
  • Examples: lots of uncontested FFD nominations; 1

Commons policy:

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(I am not sure if there is actually a divergence between en and Commons on this)

en policy: works whose source country had copyright relations with the US at the time of publication are assumed to have subsisting copyright in the US, even if there is no evidence US formalities were followed

Commons policy: also assume subsisting copyright

Freedom of panorama

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en policy: only follow US law, "we accept images of buildings and structures taken anywhere in the world, but not images of sculptures or other works of art"

Commons policy: only follow source country

Possibly unpublished works

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(I am not sure if there is actually a divergence between en and Commons on this)

en policy: works claimed to be PD because old and unpublished must provide proof they were not published

  • Note: I can't find an explicit statement of policy
  • Examples: 1, 2, 3, 4

PD-Italy

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en, it, commons policy: Italian copyright on simple photos only extends 20 years; therefore Italian simple photos from before 1976 (URAA-20) are allowed

Commons policy from 2006 to 2012: Follow EU copyright directives on creative works, without an exception for Italian simple photos

This is why many description pages for photos on it.wp contain the equivalent of "Do not move to Commons", which can be safely ignored.