WikiProject Copyright Cleanup is a project formed to address copyright concerns on Wikipedia. Among its primary activities are identifying and resolving copyright problems, assisting editors with copyright policies, following up on repeated violations, and coordinating widscale cleanups. Everyone is welcome to join the project and contribute. A list of members can be found at Category:WikiProject Copyright Cleanup participants.
To join the project, you may add this userbox by placing {{User WikiProject Copyright Cleanup}} to your
user page. You will automatically be added to the participants
category. You can also add yourself directly to that category without the userbox by placing [[Category:WikiProject Copyright Cleanup participants|{{PAGENAME}}]] to your userpage. Even if you do not wish to list yourself in the category, your contributions to the project are welcome.
A channel dedicated to the project exists on the unofficial Wikimedia Discord server, under #wpcci. The channel is used for coordination and organization of ongoing cleanups and investigations.
Here are some matters related to the project and copyright issues that may be of interest to members.
Look in one of the categories or project pages listed in the box above; select and investigate an article or image tagged as a copyright concern.
If the problem can be easily addressed, address it. For example, if an image lacks a non-free use rationale but you can supply one, do. If an article is copied from a compatibly licensed source but provides no attribution, attribute it. You may also consider requesting copyright permission. (See below for specific ideas for various forums of concern.)
Make sure the problem is listed at the proper forum, with all necessary information. For instance, if an article is at Wikipedia:Suspected copyright violations and it should be tagged for speedy deletion as it meets criterion WP:CSD#G12, tag it with {{Db-g12}}. If you have located licensing information that suggests an image at WP:PUF may be properly licensed, note it.
Make sure that others interested in the file or article are aware of the problem, where appropriate. For instance, if an article is listed at WP:CP but the article itself is not tagged {{copyvio}} or if an image is listed at WP:PUF but the image caption at an article is not tagged {{pufc}}, add those tags.
Make sure that the contributor has been notified, usually with the notification template for the purpose.
If copyright concerns seem valid, check the contribution history of the contributor to ensure that there are not other copyright issues that need to be addressed. If contributions are extensive enough to warrant additional assistance, request it at the project's talk page.
Contribute to the clean-up efforts listed on the noticeboard.
Check the project's talk page to see if a contributor check is required.
Help keep an eye out for new infringement
Watch endangered articles. Certain article types, like television episode guides, on Wikipedia are particularly prone to copyright misuse. It's a good idea to watchlist one or a number of these articles to guard against the introduction of infringement.
Keep an eye on Wikipedia:Redirects for discussion to help ensure that redirects are not deleted if they have significant page history needed to provided CC-BY-SA and GFDL attribution after page merges. Template:Splitfrom can be placed on talk pages of articles or redirects from which material has been copied to indicate that the page history is needed for this reason.
Keep an eye on the various talk pages where contributors with copyright may ask for assistance. Among these, in addition to the talk page of this project, are:
Follow up with contributors who do not follow Wikipedia's copyright policies, including less-understood matters like copying & paste moves.
Motivate project members or others who go out of their way to help with copyright issues by thanking them through a personal note or through one of Wikipedia's "awards", like {{The Copyright Cleanup Barnstar}}.
Wikipedians wishing to help clean copyright concerns should be reasonably familiar with Wikipedia's policies and guidelines related to copyright. In addition to links in the "Wikipedia Copyright" box, useful resources may include:
