[vox-tech] [OT] Uploading an image to Wikipedia (licensing)

[Ken Bloom]

On Tue, Jan 5, 2010 at 9:07 PM, Peter Salzman <p at dirac.org> wrote:
> I'm writing a Wikipedia article, and want to upload an image (the
> first time I'm uploading multimedia to Wikipedia).  I found what
> appears to be a contradiction in Wikipedia's uploading policy.
>
> First of all, the image I want to upload is not mine, but the person
> who took the photo gave me permission to use it for the article:
>
>
> Hi Peter,
>
> Sorry for the delay in getting back to you.  I have attached a copy of
> Salih's most recent portrait taken by myself, and owned by the ICMA
> Centre.
>
> You have express permission from me, as the photographer and as a
> representative of the ICMA Centre, to use this image on wikipedia.
>
> I hope this covers the required grounds - I'm afraid I don't have time
> to read up the implications of OC licenses etc (hence the delay in me
> getting back to you), so let me know if you need anything more.
>
> Kind regards,
> André
>
>
> Here's where the apparent contradiction comes.  According to
> http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:Uploading_images
>
>     in the cases of images where their owners have stipulated they be
> used for non-commercial purposes only,
>     under new guidelines such images may no longer be uploaded into
> Wikipedia except by the express permission
>     of those owners. [1]
>
> But when you follow the endnote [1], it leads to this text:
>
>     All images which are for non-commercial only use and by
> permission only are not acceptable for Wikipedia and will be deleted.
>
> So on one hand, I can upload the image because I have the express
> permission from the owner.  On the other hand, because the image is
> "by permission only" it is not acceptable for Wikipedia and will be
> deleted.
>
> Does anyone understand the Wikipedia policy and/or has a higher
> tolerance for understanding licenses than I do (which is admittedly
> very low).  My sense is that the image owner wants his picture to be
> used for the Wikipedia article, but may be unwilling to allow the
> image to be used for commercial purposes.

So your question is: when the image owner said "You have express
permission from me, as the photographer and as a representative of the
ICMA Centre, to use this image on wikipedia. I'm afraid I don't have
time to read up the implications of OC licenses etc", did he mean to
say "You can use it on Wikipedia, but I still reserve the right to
restrict other uses", or did he mean to say "put it under any license
you want that wikipedia will allow"? You either need to ask the image
owner himself to clarify, or ask a lawyer, or assume (as Wikipedia
does) that he means the first explanation, in which case you can't
upload the image. (I'd bet that asking a lawyer isn't worth your time
or money in this case, as my uneducated guess is that he'd come to the
same conclusion that Wikipedia does.)

--Ken