Tutorial: Free use or fair use?
This week, we'll talk about how to tell if an image is free to use on Wikipedia, or if it constitutes fair use instead.
What is fair use?
A fair use file is described as an image, audio file or video file which is copyrighted in some way and is used solely to illustrate the subject or meets the criteria for fair use.
Most images on the internet are copyrighted, even if none is stated. Sometimes, the author of the work can be contacted and asked to release the work under a new license. Copyrighted images should not be uploaded to Wikipedia, unless they are used only to illustrate the subject matter. For example, an album cover on an article about an album (like A Weekend in the City or Diorama) or a book cover on a book article (like Silverfin or The Da Vinci Code). Fair use also covers logos, for instance, of an sporting team (like Arsenal F.C.) or a company or organisation (like Google).
Unless the article needs a picture like this, it is always better to use a free use image.
What is free use?
A free use is a file whose copyright status allows it to be used freely on Wikipedia or other sites without copyright. Free use files used on Wikipedia are usually uploaded to the Wikimedia Commons rather than Wikipedia so they can be used globally on any Wikimedia website (like the Italian Wikipedia, the English Wikinews, or the Hebrew Wikibooks).
The easiest way to make sure files are not copyrighted is to take a photograph of the item in question yourself. You can then release the file into the public domain, meaning you are willing to give up ownership of the file and allow anyone to use it anywhere, for profit or otherwise.
Although most files on the internet are copyrighted, it is possible to find files which are not. For example, it is possible to perform an advanced search, allowing it to only search for files with a certain copyright status.