History Administrivia / AboutImagesAndCopyright

** In a UsefulNotes article, all quotes and excerpts should be cited.

Copying text from other websites or publications and pasting it on TV Tropes is plagiarism. If you do this, you will be banned and your work deleted. That's it. You can stop right there and know all you need. There are ways to copy text legally within the bounds of Fair Use. '''All''' of the criteria listed must be satisfied:

Copying text from other websites or publications and pasting it on TV Tropes is plagiarism. If you do this, you will be banned and your work deleted. That's it. You can stop right there and know all you need.

There are ways to use text legally within the bounds of Fair Use. '''All''' of the criteria listed must be satisfied:

!! Text

!! That's It.

'''Copying text from other websites or publications and pasting it on TV Tropes is plagiarism.''' If you do this, '''you will be banned''' and your work deleted. That's it. You can stop right there and know all you need.

Hopefully that clears up questions about how and when we can show parts of works. If you have further questions about images, post the question in [[https://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/posts.php?discussion=1317986693061200100 this thread]]. If you see a page image that you think violates these guidelines, make a thread for it in the [[https://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/conversations.php?topic=images Image Pickin']] forum. Just click the 'workshops' button at the top of the page, then select the IP thread you want. If you see plagiarized text or have questions about the plagiarism policy, post [[https://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/posts.php?discussion=14727740310A09919300 in this thread]].

[[quoteleft:500:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/watermarked_cat_5575.jpg]]

https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/watermarked_cat_5575.jpg

[[quoteright:500:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/Daffy_with_bug_774.jpg]]

[[quoteleft:500:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/Daffy_with_bug_774.jpg]]

https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/Daffy_with_bug_774.jpg

* The text is used for illustrative purposes and does not constitute the entirety of an example or article description.
* The text is '''brief''' and only uses as much of the original content as necessary.
* If it is not clear from context where the text comes from, it is attributed to its source. (We do not require bibliographic citations, but at least say where you got it.)

Hopefully that clears up questions about how and when we can show parts of works. If you have further questions, post the question in [[https://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/posts.php?discussion=1317986693061200100 this thread]]. If you see a page image that you think violates these guidelines, make a thread for it in the [[https://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/conversations.php?topic=images Image Pickin']] forum. Just click the 'workshops' button at the top of the page, then select the IP thread you want. If you see plagiarized text on the wiki, bring it up [[https://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/posts.php?discussion=14727740310A09919300 in this thread]].

Hopefully that clears up questions about how and when we can show parts of works. If you have further questions, post the question in [[https://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/posts.php?discussion=1317986693061200100 this thread]]. If you see a page image that you think violates these guidelines, make a thread for it in the [[https://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/conversations.php?topic=images Image Pickin']] forum. Just click the 'workshops' button at the top of the page, then select the IP thread you want.

'''Copying text from other websites or publications for use on TV Tropes is plagiarism.''' If you do this, '''you will be banned''' and your work deleted. That's it. You can stop right there and know all you need.

There are ways to use text legally. '''All''' of the criteria listed must be satisfied:

Even if the text is not copyrighted, has a license that permits copying, or is in the public domain, you should follow these rules. We want original writing on TV Tropes, not something you cribbed from another website.

TV Tropes may occasionally reproduce original, copyrighted content under written license. Do not negotiate for rights on behalf of the wiki unless authorized to by a moderator or administrator. Content reproduced in this manner must be attributed and may not be altered.

* A watermark is any printing or image deliberately overlaid across the image in order to interfere with seeing it completely clearly. It's an anti-theft measure. We can't use it. Period. The artist might provide us with an un-watermarked version, but it's on us to ask for it, and if we don't get it then we need to look somewhere else. Making a copy of the image and then Photoshopping out the watermark is '''not''' kosher.

* TV channels use bugs mostly for marketing purposes rather than as an anti-theft measure. A single screencap from a show is Fair Use, and an image with a bug in the corner is acceptable, although one without it is preferable, because it's prettier. This image has a bug (circled):

We will honor all take down request based on copyright. That is really the entirety of the wiki's obligation. We are not obligated to seek out permissions for excerpt use or to investigate to discover what a creator's copyright policy might be.

* A watermark is any printing or image deliberately overlaid across the image in order to interfere with seeing it completely clearly. It's an anti-theft measure. We can't use it. Period. This is a watermarked image: [[note]]We used the photo with permission and watermarked it ourselves to demonstrate what a watermark looks like.[[/note]]

Also, removing a watermark from an image so it can be used on a page is ''not'' kosher. We can ask the artist for a un-watermarked version, but that's it.

* A watermark is any printing or image deliberately overlaid across the image in order to interfere with seeing it completely clearly. It's an anti-theft measure. We can't use it. Period. This is a watermarked image: [[hottip:Note:We used the photo with permission and watermarked it ourselves to demonstrate what a watermark looks like.]]

Hopefully that clears up questions about how and when we can show parts of works. If you have further questions, post the question in the [[http://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/conversations.php?topic=0000000000000000000000f3 Wiki Talk]] forum. If you see a page image that you think violates these guidelines, make a thread for it in the [[http://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/conversations.php?topic=images Image Pickin']] forum. Just click the 'forums' button at the top of the page, then select the forum you want.

We will honor all take down request based on copyright. That is really the entirety of the wiki's obligation. We are not obligated to seek out permissions for excerpt use or to investigate to discover what a creator's copyright policy night be.

!! Permission from the copyright holder:
* Permission from the copyright holder (in the case of an image, that's most likely going to be the artist themselves) means that we can use the image, as long as we comply with any restrictions they put on that usage without threading the maze of Fair Use. Such restrictions may be "Don't crop or alter it", "Link it back to my webpage", or "Give me a credit in the caption." That permission was granted should be noted in a commented-out note (something like "[=%% Used by permission of the artist as long as it's linked to <website address> %%=]") on the page in question.

* The absence of an © symbol does not mean the work isn't copyrighted! In most First World countries (and we're hosted in one), a work becomes copyrighted automatically when it's created and remains so unless it's old enough to be in the PublicDomain, has been purposely released to the public domain, or has been released under an open license such as [[http://www.creativecommons.org Creative Commons]].

!! Other
Sometimes an image has no copyright symbol, but is still copyrighted. This happens a lot with still photography. The photo is the entirety of the work, not an excerpt. If you ''know'' the image is copyrighted, don't use it.

Hopefully that clears up questions about how and when we can show parts of works. If you have further questions, post the question in the Wiki Talk Forum. If you see a page image that you think violates these guidelines, make a thread for it in the Image Pickin' forum. Just click the 'forums' button at the top of the page, then select the forum you want.

* The absence of an © symbol does not mean the work isn't copyrighted! In most First World countries (and we're hosted in one), a work becomes copyrighted automatically when it's created and remains so unless it's old enough to be in the PublicDomain, has been purposely released to the public domain, or has been released under a "copyleft" license such as [[http://www.creativecommons.org Creative Commons]].

In order to talk about creativity we sometimes want to show a part of the thing created. That is cool. It is called Fair Use. In order to make the use fair, we have to follow some rules. The big one that makes the rest of the little ones easy to remember is: [[AC:You can only show an excerpt, not the whole thing.]]

* Permission from the copyright holder (in the case of an image, that's most likely going to be the artist themselves) means that we can use the image, as long as we comply with any restrictions they put on that usage without threading the maze of Fair Use. Such restrictions may be "Don't crop or alter it", "Link it back to my webpage", or "Give me a credit in the caption." That permission was granted should be noted in a commented-out note (something like "[=%% Used by permission of the artist as long as it's linked to <website address> %%=]" on the page in question.

* If there is a copyright symbol © but no name on the part of work shown, it needs to be made clear that there is more of the work, or it looks like ''we're'' claiming the copyright. Which would be bad.

* A watermark is any printing or image deliberately overlaid across the image in order to interfere with seeing it completely clearly. It's an anti-theft measure. We can't use it. Period. This is a watermarked image: [[hottip:Note:We used the photo with permission and watermarked it ourselves to demonstrate what a watermark looks like. Ok?]]

Hopefully that clears up questions about how and when we can show parts of works. If you have further questions, post the question in the Wiki Talk Forum. If you see a page image that you think violates these guidelines, Make thread for it in the Image Pickin' forum. Just click the 'forums' button at the top of the page, then select the forum you want.

* If there is a copyright symbol © on the part of work shown, it needs to be made clear that there is more of the work, or it looks like ''we're'' claiming the copyright. Which would be bad.
* If there is a copyright symbol © on the work shown, and there isn't any more to that work -- a single-panel comic, for example -- we can't use it at all. It is not an excerpt. It is the whole thing.
* If there is a copyright symbol © on the work, we can't remove it. That wouldn't be honest, or fair. We can show a part of the work that doesn't have the copyright symbol, though, and it is preferable to do so. Just clipping off and showing the part of an image that doesn't have the symbol is not an excerpt.