Forum:Licensing question

Hello again. I have a question about licensing. On our wiki (The Wheel of Time Wiki), we had one of our people import some of the blog posts from an author's website. The original posts are copyrighted. After speaking with the author's assistant, I created a template to place at the bottom of each page, stating that the original post is copyrighted. We've deleted the posts for now, just so that we don't break any copyright rules. Better safe than sorry. My question is this: is there any way that we can have these posts on the wiki without breaking any rules? Any replies will be appreciated. 03:02, September 29, 2012 (UTC)
 * Well, if you have permission and state it, I can't think of why you wouldn't. Cat (meow ∙ hunt) 04:33, September 29, 2012 (UTC)


 * If you are reusing content that is not from a Creative Commons source, it doesn't really matter if you place a copyright notice on the page or not because you are still reproducing someone's material. Non-CC material is under general copyright and attribution is beside the point. There are exceptions for using parts of text or images in a way that illustrates or illuminates the subject (fair use), but if you are importing whole blog posts this likely does not apply.


 * As a host for user-generated content Wikia responds to claims of copyright infringement according the notice and takedown provisions of the Digital Millennium Copyright Act. This means that the person whose copyright is being infringed must inform us directly, and include certain sworn statements. If the author of the posts sent us a notice, we would likely remove the content. Uploading copyrighted material is also against our Terms of Use, so if someone repeatdely uploaded after being warned, there would be further actions.


 * However, it sounds like in this case, the author (via their assistant) is satisfied with the reuse of content as long as the copyright notice is included. This means that he would be unlikely to send us a takedown request. If you have the author's permission, then there should not be any problem with having the posts. If they have not given permission, they can send a takedown notice via Special:Contact, or to copyright@wikia.com. --semanticdrifter http://images2.wikia.nocookie.net/__cb32675/wikia/images/e/e9/WikiaStaff.png (help forum | blog) 17:43, October 1, 2012 (UTC)

Just so there isn't any confusion later, copying our author's blog posts from an off-Wikia site and adding a copyright notice is fine? I don't mean to be a pest, but we just want to make sure we're not breaking any rules. Thanks! 19:40, October 1, 2012 (UTC)


 * Sorry if my clarification wasn't very clear! I would not phrase it quite that way. Since blog posts are copyrightable material, you can only reuse them with the author's permission. If they have given permission and required a copyright notice, that is fine. If they have not given permission, then it is not fine. Adding the copyright notice is irrelevant if they have not given permission. While summarizing or even taking snippets of the posts would likely qualify as fair use, reusing them whole is likely copyright infringement which is not acceptable under Wikia's Terms of Use. --semanticdrifter http://images2.wikia.nocookie.net/__cb32675/wikia/images/e/e9/WikiaStaff.png (help forum | blog) 22:14, October 1, 2012 (UTC)


 * Isn't there a specific process to request the author permission (and prove you have it)? Wikipedia:Wikipedia:Requesting_copyright_permission


 * Ugh, I hate this. I feel like Wikia's position is:
 * "For form's sake, we have to prohibit adding copyrighted stuff in our terms of use. But in reality, hundreds of users (including staff members) upload copyrighted material every day and we turn a blind eye. If a copyright holder has a problem with this, they need to pay a lawyer to draft an official takedown notice for us, and even if they go to all of that trouble all we do is take it down after making lots of cold hard cash using the material with adverts."
 * That's why these cagey comments from staff members are annoying - it seems like in semanticdrifter's first post is essentially saying all the formal stuff, but then revealing how it really works in the last paragraph - specifically, "If they have not given permission, they can send a takedown notice via Special:Contact, or to copyright@wikia.com", meaning, "if you add copyrighted stuff without the author's permission, it's their problem not yours/ours". When really he should have said ""If they have not given permission, DO NOT ADD IT FULL STOP"-- Category:Acer4666 23:37, October 1, 2012 (UTC)


 * One problem with "If they have not given permission, DO NOT ADD IT FULL STOP" is that it ignores the very real exception for fair use. A great deal of images and other material that our users upload is a de minimus addition, like adding a screenshot to an entirely original article about a video game or television show or adding snippets of text from a novel to a wiki dedicated to that author. All of these uses are means of criticism, comment, news reporting, scholarship, or research and as such are protected by the fair use exception. They do not require permission from the copyright holder. Of course, there are users whose contributions would not be likely to qualify as fair use. (Copying whole blog posts, for example.) The problem is that there isn't a bright-line rule separating one from the other.
 * While I understand your frustration with the way it puts the onus on authors to report infringements of their work, that is the function of the Digital Millennium Copyright Act. While it is clear that ISPs like Wikia have no affirmative duty to monitor or seek out potential infringements by the user (indeed, doing so could potentially jeopardize our safe harbor protection from liability), we do respond to notices from copyright holders. One advantage of this is that the notice and takedown procedure precludes us from having to make complex legal determinations of specific uses and decide what is and is not fair use. Instead, we expedituously respond to valid DMCA Notices. I understand this can be a burden for authors, and the DMCA has many critics. Although I would point out that a DMCA Notice is a simple one sheet form, the elements of which are readily available (we even link to them when we receive informal complaints) and do not require hiring a lawyer. See http://www.chillingeffects.org/dmca512/faq.cgi#QID130. We respond to many requests directly from authors. There are no filing fees, and we don't add unnecessary administrative hurdles to the process. --semanticdrifter http://images2.wikia.nocookie.net/__cb32675/wikia/images/e/e9/WikiaStaff.png (help forum | blog) 14:31, October 2, 2012 (UTC)

We have been given permission to have the blog posts on the wiki, provided that we put the copyright notice on the page as well. The way I see it, if we can upload copyrighted images and provide copyright tags in the way of templates and whatnot, why should text be any different? 23:47, October 1, 2012 (UTC)


 * I think Acer4666 wasn't talking about your specific case... since you have the author permission I think there isn't any problem. About the copyright notice, I'd suggest something like this but with also the link back to the original blog post, I think the author is more interested in a link back than just a notice.


 * From a purely wiki-spirit perspective, including a link to the original site would be the best course of action, along with any copyright notice the author has requested. The template suggested would be an excellent choice with some minor tweaking. The only point I would make is that images are slightly more complicated than text, because images do not necesarily fall under CC-BY-SA, whereas text is assumed to so I would not use that as a basis. However, if the author has given permission, then there should not be any problems. --semanticdrifter http://images2.wikia.nocookie.net/__cb32675/wikia/images/e/e9/WikiaStaff.png (help forum | blog) 14:31, October 2, 2012 (UTC)

Semanticdrifter, one question: which advice should I take; what has been offered here on this forum or what what you told my fellow admin here? 20:14, October 2, 2012 (UTC)