WikiNorthia:Copyrights
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[edit] Copyright - For those submitting content
The information below is a general guide to copyright. It is by no means definitive. Copyright law is complex and there are many exceptions to general rules.
For further information see
[edit] Quick Guide
Works published during an author’s lifetime are out of copyright if the author died prior to 1 January 1955. Usually where items were published anonymously or in newspapers, anything published prior to 1 January 1955 is out of copyright.
On 1 January 2005 the copyright period was changed to 70 years. Anything that was still in copyright on 1 January 1955 will remain in copyright until at least 1 January 2026.
Copyright permission is the responsibility of the person using copyrighted material.
This information is a guide only. Anyone seeking to copy and republish material created by somebody else should check the above links for more information.
[edit] Detailed Guide
In general the policy of WikiNorthia is that contributors should avoid reproducing copyrighted material.
Contributors are responsible for ensuring that another creator’s work is out of copyright before reproducing the item. If the material is in copyright it is the contributor’s responsibility to ensure permission has been given by the copyright holder. An exception to this would be where the contributor holds copyright. See also Help:Quality.
Copyright provides protection for intellectual property. By this we mean the creator of written work, art, music, and photographs automatically owns copyright for that work and must give permission if the work is reproduced. In some cases this copyright may be owned by an organisation where work was completed by an employee as part of their job.
As above copyright relates to creative work. Belongings, possessions etc. are not subject to copyright. So for instance a photograph could be taken of an item of clothing or a building without requiring copyright permission. However the photograph itself would then be subject to copyright. Depending on the circumstances the copyright holder would be the person taking the photograph or the organisation that has commissioned the photograph.
It is unlawful to reproduce a significant amount of another persons work without permission of the copyright holder. See also Help:Quality.
When Australia signed the Free Trade Agreement with the United States it involved important changes to copyright law. These changes were effective from 1 January 2005.
As a result of these changes copyright in Australia exists for 70 years after the death of the author for works published during their lifetime. There are exceptions and in some circumstances the 70 year period may relate to the date of publication of the item in a newspaper or magazine rather than the death of the author.
Prior to the Free Trade agreement the copyright period was 50 years.
This means that where copyright was due to expire in January 2005 it, now remains in copyright until at least 1 January 2026. Copyright expires at midnight on 31 December of the 70th year. If an author died in 1963, works published during their lifetime would remain in copyright for 70 years after that date. Regardless of the exact date the author died, if the year was 1963 the works would move into the public domain on 1 January 2034.
However the changes precipitated by the Free Trade Agreement are not retrospective. Anything that was out of copyright on 1 January 2005 remains out of copyright. So items published in newspapers prior to 1 January 1955, or anything published during the lifetime of an author who died prior to 1 January 1955 is out of copyright and in the public domain.
Nobody holds copyright for things in the public domain and they can be freely reproduced without copyright permission. However if the items to be reproduced are owned by a third party, permission to reproduce the item may be required from the owner even though copyright no longer exists. This is particularly relevant to photographs. See also Help:Quality.
[edit] Fair Use
WikiNorthia aims to be a reliable and trusted resource. In order to achieve this it is very important that each article is based on reliable source material and acknowledges that source material. See also Help:Quality.
Fair Use allows authors to quote from copyrighted work by others in order to verify and support their article. Fair Use refers to the reason material is used and the amount of material that is used. Quoting from published works to support your article is encouraged, however such quoting should be restricted to a sentence or a short paragraph.
[edit] Permission
Material such as photographs may require permission from the owner of the image before being reproduced, even if the photograph is out of copyright.
If you intend to add an out of copyright photograph to an article, and it is owned by a third party, you need to seek their permission to reproduce the photograph. You should acknowledge the owner of the photograph in the manner that they specify ie. used with permission of Mr J Citizen / Used with permission of …..Archive.
Often institutions like libraries will have a formal process for obtaining permission to reproduce photographs. Where photographs are currently displayed on other websites, article contributors should consider linking to the images rather than re-using them. If they are re-used, permission must be sort. Where ownership of the website or the images displayed on that website are not clear, contributors should avoid re-using or linking to those images.
[edit] Privacy
See also
In general where you are adding a photograph to WikiNorthia that clearly identifies a living person you should seek that person’s permission prior to uploading the photograph.
When referring to individuals in an article any information should be verifiable and not in any way libel the person. Any unverified or offensive information cannot be posted. Matters of opinion should not be presented as matters of fact.
If, for instance, John Citizen had been charged with several criminal offences, that is what should be said with a verifiable source (local paper report) as a footnote or directly quoted. If he was found guilty, then that could be included, again clearly footnoted. You shouldn’t just write that “John Citizen was a known criminal”, particularly if Mr Citizen or his immediate family are still alive.
It should be noted that the Federal Privacy Act relates to information handling by organisations rather than individuals. There is currently no specific laws that prohibit individuals uploading inoffensive photographs to the internet even if those photographs include easily recognisable people.
This issue is currently being discussed at Federal Government level, however WikiNorthia seeks to respect individuals privacy and to rely on verifiable publicly available information.
As per the above it is our policy that editors seek permission before uploading photographs that include easily identifiable living people.
