Wikipedia:Non-free use rationale guideline
Wikipedia content guideline / From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
When non-free media files (images, videos, and audio clips) are used on Wikipedia, a justification for their usage, called a non-free use rationale (or use rationale or fair use rationale), must be presented in the file description page, explaining how the file is used in a way consistent with Wikipedia's non-free content criteria. This justification will help other users determine if the claim of non-free use could apply to a wide variety of uses or a narrow range of uses. It will also help determine if the given claim of non-free use is appropriate for Wikipedia in the first place.
This page documents an English Wikipedia content guideline. Editors should generally follow it, though exceptions may apply. Substantive edits to this page should reflect consensus. When in doubt, discuss first on this guideline's talk page. |
If you are using non-free images or other media files, you must include two things on the file description page:
- An appropriate copyright tag explaining the basic claim of non-free use. See Wikipedia:File copyright tags/Non-free for a list.
- A detailed non-free use rationale. A separate, specific rationale must be provided each time the media file is used in an article. The name of the article the media file is used in must be included in the rationale.
Be sure to examine the guidelines on non-free content before uploading the file. Wikipedia's policies are more restrictive than United States fair use law in terms of what is and is not allowed.
Note: Non-free media files that do not include both a copyright tag and a use rationale may be deleted after seven days.
Non-free use of copyrighted text does not require a rationale. However, text reuse must fall within our copyright policy, not create copyright violations, and must be properly attributed to avoid plagiarism.