CC BY-NC template EDP and documentation

Introduction

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The Wikimedia Foundation legal team received a request as to how one might host noncommercial content on Wikipedia or the other Wikimedia projects. We think this could be possible and that there are a range of works that may only be available under such noncommercial licenses that would therefore be allowed under the Foundation’s licensing policy. Provided here, we offer an example for an appropriate non-free content policy and templates for hosting noncommercial or noncommercial-sharealike works (which legally would require the same information for hosting). This is based on the non-free content criteria from the English Wikipedia, which is well-developed. We have modified and adjusted it for noncommercial licensed content, which would require fewer justifications overall since such content is freely licensed albeit with one major reuse limitation that needs to be noted to the reuser of the content. We hope that this is helpful for community policy conversations and potential adaptation across many languages.

1. Wikipedia: CC By-NC/By-NC-SA content criteria [edits on Wikipedia:WP:Non-free content criteria]

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As per the Wikimedia Foundation Licensing policy resolution of March 23, 2007, this document serves as the Exemption Doctrine Policy addendum for CC By-NC/By-NC-SA content for the ____ Wikipedia. [1]

Rationale

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  • To support Wikipedia's mission to produce perpetually free content for unlimited distribution, modification and application by all users in all media
  • To facilitate the judicious use of non-free content to support the development of a high-quality encyclopedia

Policy

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There is no automatic entitlement to use CC By-NC/By-NC-SA content in an article or elsewhere on Wikipedia. Articles and other Wikipedia pages may, in accordance with the general non-free content guideline, use brief verbatim textual excerpts from all copyrighted media, properly attributed or cited to its original source or author (as described by the citation guideline), and specifically indicated as direct quotations via quotation marks, <blockquote>, {{Quote}}or a similar method.


[OPTIONAL ADDITION FOR NC TEXT]: [In the case of NC content, longer excerpts than normally allowed may be used but should be additionally indicated to be licensed under CC By-NC/By-NC-SA licenses by [using the SOME NC CONTENT TAG around the quote and] referencing the applicable license in the citation for the excerpt [via SOME TECHNICAL SOLUTION].]


Other By-NC/By-NC-SA content—including images, audio and video clips, and other media files—may be uploaded to a file namespace on the ______Wikipedia only where the [1st, 2nd, 3rd, and 7th] of the following criteria are met, and may be used outside a file namespace only where all __ of the following criteria are met.

  1. No free equivalent. By-NC/By-NC-SA content can be uploaded to a file namespace only where no free equivalent is likely available, or could easily be created, that would serve the same encyclopedic purpose.
  2. Content. By-NC/By-NC-SA content meets general Wikipedia content standards and is encyclopedic.
  3. Media-specific policy. By-NC/By-NC-SA content meets Wikipedia's media-specific policy. For example, images must meet Wikipedia:WP:Image use policy.
  4. Minimal usage: Minimal number of items. Multiple items of non-free content are not used in an article if one item can convey equivalent significant information.
  5. Restrictions on location. By-NC/By-NC-SA content is allowed only in articles (not disambiguation pages), and only in the article namespace and file namespace, subject to exemptions. (To prevent an image category from displaying thumbnails, add __NOGALLERY__to it; images are linked, not inlined, from talk pages when they are a topic of discussion.)
  6. By-NC/By-NC-SA MEDIA SPECIFIC TEMPLATES. By-NC/By-NC-SA media is to be used only with its corresponding template in articles. The templates will visually indicate its By-NC/By-NC-SA status. [And while it is not required, editors are encouraged to include the work’s title, author, source, and license name in the caption where possible]. For a list of By-NC/By-NC-SA Media specific templates, see ________________.
  7. Image description page. The image or media description page contains the following:
    1. Identification of the source of the original copyrighted material, the applicable CC By-NC/By-NC-SA license, the title of the material (if any), and the artist/author. This shall be supplemented, where possible, with information about the publisher and copyright holder, and year of copyright; See: Wikipedia:WP:Citing sources § Multimedia.
    2. A copyright tag that indicates which Wikipedia policy provision is claimed to permit the use.For a list of image copyright tags, see Wikipedia:WP:Image copyright tags/Non-free content [NOTE that a community would need to add new tags]].
    3. A By-NC/By-NC-SA upload rationale.

Enforcement

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  • A file without valid By-NC/By-NC-SA content-use rationale for the articles it is used in will not be deleted. Instead, the file should be removed from the articles for which it lacks a valid By-NC/By-NC-SA content-use rationale, or a suitable rationale added.
  • A file on which By-NC/By-NC-SA content upload is validly claimed will be retained even if it is not used in any article.
  • A file that does not have a rationale in line with this policy 48 hours after notification to the uploading editor may be deleted. To avoid deletion, the uploading editor or another Wikipedian will need to provide a convincing By-NC/By-NC-SA content-use defense that satisfies all __ criteria.
    • Note that it is the duty of users seeking to include or retain content to provide a valid rationale; —see burden of proof. Those seeking to remove or delete it based on claims a free version can be easily created, should create such a version.

Deletion criteria for non-free content generally are specified in Wikipedia:Criteria for speedy deletion § Files.

2. Wikipedia:CC By-NC/By-NC-SA content use rationale guideline [based on: Wikipedia:WP:Non-free use rationale guideline]

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When CC By-NC/By-NC-SA media files (images, videos, and audio clips) are used on Wikipedia, a justification for their usage, called a By-NC/By-NC-SA use rationale (or use rationale), must be presented in the file description page, explaining how the file is used in a way consistent with Wikipedia's non-free content criteria. This justification will help other users determine if the claim of By-NC/By-NC-SA use could apply to a wide variety of uses or a narrow range of uses. It will also help determine if the given claim of By-NC/By-NC-SA use is appropriate for Wikipedia in the first place. If you are using By-NC/By-NC-SA images or other media files, you must include two things on the file description page:

  1. An appropriate copyright tag explaining the basic claim of By-NC/By-NC-SA use. See Wikipedia:WP:File copyright tags/Non-free for examples of existing tags.
  2. A By-NC/By-NC-SA use rationale. A By-NC/By-NC-SA upload rationale must be provided for the file.

Be sure to examine the guidelines on non-free content before uploading the file. Note: Non-free media files that do not include both a copyright tag and a use rationale may be deleted after seven days. Non-free use of NC text does not require a rationale. However, text reuse must fall within our copyright policy, include [The NC template to be created if it is longer than typical quotations] and must be properly attributed to avoid plagiarism.

Necessary components

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A well-written use rationale explains how the use of the media meets the By-NC/By-NC-SA content criteria and should state:

  • A general rationale on why there is likely no free equivalent to the file [in the abstract]/[for a hypothetical article that is likely to be created/edited to include the image]:
    • For example, where the image is [SOME MEDICAL IMAGE THAT IS NOT LIKELY TO BE FOUND PD/FREE]: There is unlikely to be a free equivalent because of the difficulty of obtaining patient consent and standard medical research practice. As such, there will not be a free culture file that will be able to serve the same purpose as this file. Thus the file may be uploaded and hosted on Wikipedia for a potential future use.
  • Any other information necessary to assist others in determining whether the use of this copyrighted work qualifies for By-NC/By-NC-SA use.

Template

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Please note that meeting the NFC does not require the use of these templates, as long as the description on the file page addresses all 7 criteria outlined by the NFC. The template {{Non-free use rationale 2}} facilitates both adding essential metadata and creating a use rationale with the necessary components.

{{NC License rationale
<!--Obligatory fields-->
| Description    =
| Author         =
| Source         =
| Title          =
| Purpose        =
| Replaceability =
<!--Optional/expert fields-->
| Date                =
| Publication         =
| Replaceability_text =
| Other information   =
}}

Optional/expert fields and can be left out. An older form, {{Non-free use rationale}}, is also available. An alternative is to use {{Non-free media data}} with {{Non-free media rationale}}; this is helpful for items with multiple uses. The {tl|Non-free media data}} template is applied once and a {{Non-free media rationale}} template is added for each use, providing a separate purpose (rationale) for each use, per policy. Insert this once:

{{Non-free media data
| Description       = 
| Source            = 
| Portion           = 
| Low_resolution    = <!-- Not required for NC material -->
| other_information = <!-- Optional parameter -->
}}

Repeat this as many times as needed:

{{Non-free media rationale
| Article           = <!-- No linking required -->
| Purpose           = 
| Replaceability    = 
}}

There are more specific use rationale templates in Wikipedia:Category:Non-free use rationale templates, such as for album covers and logos.

Non-template

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Below are some basic examples. Good use rationales will expand on why the non-free item is needed, why a free item cannot be used in its place, and what essential function it performs in each article in which it is to be used. If the media file is used in several articles, then you must include a separate use rationale for each article. If the article text comments on the media file itself, then write so. If it does not, be sure to explain why the media file is necessary despite the fact it is not mentioned.

Logo in the article about the topic that the logo represents

=== Non-free use in [[ARTICLE NAME]] ===
Though this image is subject to a CC By-NC-SA 4.0 license, its use is covered by Wikipedia's CC By-NC/By-NC-SA content policies, because:
# It illustrates an educational article about the entity that the logo represents.
# The image is used as the primary means of visual identification of the article topic.
# The logo is not used in such a way that a reader would be confused into believing that the article is written or authorized by the owner of the logo.
# It is not replaceable with an uncopyrighted or freely copyrighted image of comparable educational value.
  • Other text indicating conformance with the Wikipedia:WP:Logos guideline may be added, such as confirmation that the logo has been rendered at a small size and with lower detail if it is a scalable vector image.

Historical photographs

=== Non-free use for [[ARTICLE NAME]] ===
Though this image is subject to a CC By-NC-SA 4.0 license, its use is covered by Wikipedia's CC By-NC/By-NC-SA content policies, because:
# It is a historically significant photo of a famous individual. [To strengthen the claim, consider adding sources to back up this claim, like news articles mentioning this image (and not simply using it)]
# The photo is only being used for informational purposes.
# Its inclusion in the article adds significantly to the article because the photo and its historical significance are the object of discussion in the article.

Medical images

=== Non-free use for [[ARTICLE NAME]] ===

Though this image is subject to a CC By-NC-SA 4.0 license, its use is covered by Wikipedia's CC By-NC/By-NC-SA content policies, because:
# It is of a specific aspect of a medical condition for which no open source comparable quality version exists
# The photo is only being used for informational purposes.
# Its inclusion in the article adds significantly to the article because the photo illustrates aspects of the condition being discussed.

Again, the above are only general examples; for more information on what needs to be included in this entry see Wikipedia:WP:Non-free content. The information should be as specific as possible, i.e. why you need to use the media file as part of the article. Adding this information is no guarantee that the media file will not be later removed, but it will demonstrate a use rationale to others that you may have a valid justification for including non-free materials that can be used under the GFDL. For more examples see Wikipedia:WP:Use rationale examples.

Speedy deletion

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Wikipedia:WP:CSD#F6: Non-free images that contain no use rationale whatsoever should be speedy deleted 7 days after notification to the editor who uploaded the image is given. Wikipedia:WP:CSD#F7: Non-free images that obviously fail any part of Wikipedia:WP:NFCC may be tagged as follows:

Please consider, as an alternative to deletion, fixing the description page, if possible. If a disputed or incomplete use rationale exists that cannot be fixed, the image should be nominated for deletion at Wikipedia:WP:Files for discussion. If the image is clearly an abuse, remove the image from the article and mark as orphaned non-free use with {{subst:orfud}}, notifying the uploader per that template.

Other notes

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A redirect pointing to the page where the non-free content is intended to be used is acceptable as the article name in the non-free use rationale. If an article is merged or renamed later on, there is no need to update the non-free use rationale and fix the resulting redirects that are not broken.

See also

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Notes

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  1. At the time of the Resolution's issuance on March 23, 2007, the page Wikipedia:WP:Non-free content served as the exemption doctrine policy and is referenced by the Resolution. Since then, the content has been moved around, specifically discussed the following May, and now Wikipedia:WP:Non-free content criteria serves as the exemption doctrine policy, while Wikipedia:WP:Non-free content serves as guidance for this.
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