Help:Copyright on images

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PathfinderWiki includes artwork to enhance the reader's understanding of the articles on which they are presented. There is a strong case for fair use for many of the artworks that are present on the wiki, and provided that artworks are used sensibly and in an informative manner, there will be no cause to remove them. To describe the copyright status of media uploaded to PathfinderWiki, each artwork should name the artwork's copyright holder, the year it was copyrighted, and a copyright template that describes its copyright status or reason the its use on PathfinderWiki is covered as fair use.

tl;dr! When uploading images and other media to PathfinderWiki, you must explain why you're allowed to upload the media here, and you should provide a link to its source whenever possible. Copyright templates make it easy to do both!

Book covers and product packaging images

Book covers from products on Paizo's Community Use Policy approved products list may be used, and should be denoted as such with the {{Paizo CUP}} copyright template on the cover's File page. When possible, use the template to denote the type of image and a URL to its source, such as {{Paizo CUP|store}} or {{Paizo CUP|blog}}.

Other book covers and product packaging images may be used provided they are not extremely high resolution. Despite the artwork on book covers being copyright, anyone can go to an online bookstore and find the book cover. Since the cover itself acts as promotional material, it is not in the publisher's interests to prevent people from displaying the image. Use the {{Promotional}} template, explain that it is a book cover or product packaging image, and when possible provide links to where it was released.

Maps

Maps scanned or extracted from the source material are not suitable for upload to the wiki because these are copyrighted images. If they are of high-enough resolution to make out the details and labels on the map, they are of high-enough resolution to fall outside "fair use;" if not, there is little point in using the image because it will not be legible.

Maps that are freely available on the Paizo blog or have otherwise been released under Paizo's Community Use Policy are exceptions to this rule. The CUP also allows for alternate interpretations of Paizo's maps. The copyright on fan-made maps lies with the creator, so seek permission from the map's creator before using any unofficial maps. However, such maps almost certainly incorporate information released under the CUP, and if uploaded to PathfinderWiki should use the {{Incorporates CUP}} copyright template.

Photographs

These can be informative when writing articles about Pathfinder staff, artists, freelancers, and other real-life people. Photographs are copyrighted unless otherwise specified, so seek permission from the owner of the photograph (not necessarily the person in the photograph) before uploading these to the wiki, even if they are low resolution. Photographs from Paizo.com are expressly excluded from the Community Use Policy unless they are used as cover images for approved products in the Paizo Store.

An exception to this rule is the product images for the various miniatures lines associated with the Pathfinder brand, which can be considered "cover images" under the CUP as long as they appear on the approved products lists.

Other artwork

As a rule of thumb, if artwork from a Pathfinder product is presented as a free download on the Paizo Blog, it is legal to upload to PathfinderWiki under the Community Use Policy. Even if the artwork comes from Paizo but is published elsewhere, such as in a news story on a third-party blog, a Paizo or third-party promotional video or stream, or even to Paizo-owned social media accounts like Twitter and Tumblr, that content is not covered by the Community Use Policy; if there is a fair-use case to upload that content to PathfinderWiki, use the {{Promotional}} template to explain why.

Artwork scanned or extracted from the source material is not allowed.

Artwork from the source material posted by artists — such as in their portfolio, on their websites, or on sites like DeviantArt — that has not been released by Paizo on their blog cannot be legally uploaded to PathfinderWiki without Paizo's explicit permission. These images are released to the artists by Paizo under a closed license, and the artists do not have the right to extend that license to us. If such an image must be used, get permission from the artist, then directly link to the image on their source site by using the {{External}} template.

Audio and other media

Audio samples provided by Paizo for products like audioboooks and audio dramas may be uploaded only if they are designated as promotional materials using the {{Promotional}} copyright template and accurately sourced.