Difference between revisions of "FFXI:Copyrights"

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The license [[FFXIclopedia]] uses grants free access to our content in the same sense as [[Wikipedia:free software|free software]] is licensed freely. This principle is known as '''[[Wikipedia:copyleft|copyleft]]'''. That is to say, FFXIclopedia content can be copied, modified, and redistributed ''so long as'' the new version grants the same freedoms to others and acknowledges the authors of the FFXIclopedia article used (a direct link back to the article satisfies our author credit requirement)FFXIclopedia articles therefore will remain free forever and can be used by anybody subject to certain restrictions, most of which serve to ensure that freedom.
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The license [[FFXIclopedia]] uses grants free access to our content in the same sense as [[Wikipedia:free software|free software]] is licensed freely.  To fulfill the above goals, the text contained in FFXIclopedia is licensed to the public under the [[GNU Free Documentation License]] (GFDL). The full text of this license is at [[Wikipedia:Text of the GNU Free Documentation License]].  
 
 
To fulfill the above goals, the text contained in FFXIclopedia is licensed to the public under the [[GNU Free Documentation License]] (GFDL). The full text of this license is at [[Wikipedia:Text of the GNU Free Documentation License]].  
 
 
 
:<b>Permission is granted to copy, distribute and/or modify this document under the terms of the GNU Free Documentation License, Version 1.2 or any later version published by the [[Wikipedia:Free Software Foundation|Free Software Foundation]]; with no Invariant Sections, with no Front-Cover Texts, and with no Back-Cover Texts.</b>
 
:<b>A copy of the license is included in the section entitled "[[Wikipedia:Text of the GNU Free Documentation License|GNU Free Documentation License]]".</b>
 
:<b>Content on FFXIclopedia is covered by [[FFXIclopedia:general disclaimer|disclaimers]].</b>
 
<!--- see Text of the GFDL, "How to use this license" for why we use this specific form of words (+discussion in Talk) --->
 
  
 
The text of the GFDL is the only legally binding document; what follows is our interpretation of the GFDL: the rights and obligations of users and contributors.
 
The text of the GFDL is the only legally binding document; what follows is our interpretation of the GFDL: the rights and obligations of users and contributors.
  
<font size="+1">IMPORTANT:  If you want to use content from FFXIclopedia, first read the [[FFXIclopedia:Copyrights#Users'_rights_and_obligations|Users' rights and obligations]] sectionYou should then read the [[Wikipedia:Text_of_the_GNU_Free_Documentation_License|GNU Free Documentation License]].</font>
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Content on FFXIclopedia is covered by [[FFXIclopedia:general disclaimer|disclaimers]].  As the GFDL was never intended for wiki articles, the "page history" is the best source for contributor attribution.  However the "page history" is not in the correct format for the GFDL because is missing information that would be required under the GFDL if it were the history subunit.  Additionally, it is not "Entitled" History.  As a result, you may ignore the "page history" for the purposes of verbatim copying.  If the text itself includes a section Entitled "History", however, then you should of course copy that along with the rest of the body text.  
  
 
== Users' rights and obligations ==
 
== Users' rights and obligations ==
  
If you want to use Wikipedia materials in your own books/articles/web sites
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If you want to use FFXIclopedia materials in your own books/articles/web sites or other publications, you can do so, but you have to follow the GFDL. If you are simply duplicating the Wikipedia article, you must follow [[Wikipedia:Text of the GNU Free Documentation License#VERBATIM COPYING|section two]] of the GFDL on ''verbatim copying''.  For the "Entitled" History, you must acknowledge authorship by citing FFXIclopedia and make a notation to refer to the page history of the article you are copying for a list of authors.
or other publications, you can do so, but you have to follow the GFDL. If you are simply duplicating the Wikipedia article, you must follow [[Wikipedia:Text of the GNU Free Documentation License#VERBATIM COPYING|section two]] of the GFDL on ''verbatim copying'', as discussed at [[Wikipedia:Verbatim copying]].
 
  
 
If you create a derivative version by changing or adding content, this entails the following:
 
If you create a derivative version by changing or adding content, this entails the following:
 
* your materials in turn have to be licensed under GFDL,
 
* your materials in turn have to be licensed under GFDL,
* you must acknowledge the authorship of the article (section 4B), and
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* you must acknowledge the authorship of the article as noted above, and
 
* you must provide access to the "transparent copy" of the material (section 4J). (The "transparent copy" of a FFXIclopedia article is its wiki text.)  
 
* you must provide access to the "transparent copy" of the material (section 4J). (The "transparent copy" of a FFXIclopedia article is its wiki text.)  
  
You may be able to partially fulfill the latter two obligations by providing a conspicuous direct link back to the FFXIclopedia article hosted on this website. You also need to provide access to a transparent copy of the new text. However, please note that the FFXIclopedia makes no guarantee to retain authorship information and a transparent copy of articles. Therefore, you are encouraged to provide this authorship information and a transparent copy with your derived works.
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You may be able to partially fulfill the latter two obligations by providing a conspicuous direct link back to the FFXIclopedia article hosted on this website. You also need to provide access to a transparent copy of the new text. However, please note that the FFXIclopedia makes no guarantee to retain authorship information and a transparent copy of articles. Therefore, you are encouraged to provide this authorship information and a transparent copy with your derived works.
  
 
=== Example notice ===
 
=== Example notice ===
  
An example notice, for an article that uses the FFXIclopedia article [[Wikipedia:Metasyntactic variable|Metasyntactic variable]] might read as follows:
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An example notice, for an article that uses the FFXIclopedia article [[FFXIclopedia:Copyrights]]] might read as follows:
  
 
: This article is licensed under the <a href="http://www.gnu.org/copyleft/fdl.html">GNU Free Documentation License</a>. It uses material from the <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Metasyntactic_variable">Wikipedia article "Metasyntactic variable"</a>.
 
: This article is licensed under the <a href="http://www.gnu.org/copyleft/fdl.html">GNU Free Documentation License</a>. It uses material from the <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Metasyntactic_variable">Wikipedia article "Metasyntactic variable"</a>.

Revision as of 16:07, 30 March 2005

The license FFXIclopedia uses grants free access to our content in the same sense as free software is licensed freely. To fulfill the above goals, the text contained in FFXIclopedia is licensed to the public under the GNU Free Documentation License (GFDL). The full text of this license is at Wikipedia:Text of the GNU Free Documentation License.

The text of the GFDL is the only legally binding document; what follows is our interpretation of the GFDL: the rights and obligations of users and contributors.

Content on FFXIclopedia is covered by disclaimers. As the GFDL was never intended for wiki articles, the "page history" is the best source for contributor attribution. However the "page history" is not in the correct format for the GFDL because is missing information that would be required under the GFDL if it were the history subunit. Additionally, it is not "Entitled" History. As a result, you may ignore the "page history" for the purposes of verbatim copying. If the text itself includes a section Entitled "History", however, then you should of course copy that along with the rest of the body text.

Users' rights and obligations

If you want to use FFXIclopedia materials in your own books/articles/web sites or other publications, you can do so, but you have to follow the GFDL. If you are simply duplicating the Wikipedia article, you must follow section two of the GFDL on verbatim copying. For the "Entitled" History, you must acknowledge authorship by citing FFXIclopedia and make a notation to refer to the page history of the article you are copying for a list of authors.

If you create a derivative version by changing or adding content, this entails the following:

  • your materials in turn have to be licensed under GFDL,
  • you must acknowledge the authorship of the article as noted above, and
  • you must provide access to the "transparent copy" of the material (section 4J). (The "transparent copy" of a FFXIclopedia article is its wiki text.)

You may be able to partially fulfill the latter two obligations by providing a conspicuous direct link back to the FFXIclopedia article hosted on this website. You also need to provide access to a transparent copy of the new text. However, please note that the FFXIclopedia makes no guarantee to retain authorship information and a transparent copy of articles. Therefore, you are encouraged to provide this authorship information and a transparent copy with your derived works.

Example notice

An example notice, for an article that uses the FFXIclopedia article FFXIclopedia:Copyrights] might read as follows:

This article is licensed under the <a href="http://www.gnu.org/copyleft/fdl.html">GNU Free Documentation License</a>. It uses material from the <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Metasyntactic_variable">Wikipedia article "Metasyntactic variable"</a>.

("Metasyntactic variable" and the FFXIclopedia URL must of course be substituted accordingly.)

Alternatively you can distribute your copy of "Metasyntactic variable" along with a copy of the GFDL (as explained in the text) and list at least five (or all if fewer than five) principal authors on the title page (or top of the document).

Fair use materials and special requirements

All original FFXIclopedia text is distributed under the GFDL. Occasionally, FFXIclopedia articles may include images, sounds, or text quotes used under the U.S. Copyright law "fair use" doctrine. It is preferred that these be obtained under the most free (libre) license (such as the GFDL or public domain) practical. In cases where no such images/sounds are currently available, then fair use images are acceptable (until such time as free images become available).

In such a case, the material should be identified as from an external source (on the image description page, or history page, as appropriate). As "fair use" is specific to the use that you contemplate it is best if your describe the fair use rationale for such specific use either in hidden text in the article or on the image description page. Remember what is fair use for FFXIclopedia may not be considered a fair use for your intended use of the content in another context.

For example, if we include an image under fair use, you must ensure that your use of the article also qualifies for fair use (this might not be the case, for example, if you were using a FFXIclopedia article for a commercial use that would otherwise be allowed by the GFDL and the fair use would not be allowed under that commercial use).

FFXIclopedia does use some text under licenses that are compatible with the GFDL but may require additional terms that we do not require for original FFXIclopedia text (such as including Invariant Sections, Front-Cover Texts, or Back-Cover Texts). When using these materials, you have to include those invariant sections verbatim.

Image guidelines

Images and photographs, like written works, are subject to copyright. Someone owns them unless they have been explicitly placed in the public domain. Images on the internet need to be licensed directly from the copyright holder or someone able to license on their behalf. In some cases, fair use guidelines may allow a photograph to be used.

Tagging

Image description pages can be tagged with a special tag to indicate the legal status of the images, as described at Wikipedia:Image copyright tags. It is currently unclear what should happen in cases where the same image has been uploaded more than once with different respective copyright statements.

Contributors' rights and obligations

If you contribute material to FFXIclopedia, you thereby license it to the public under the GFDL (with no invariant sections, front-cover texts, or back-cover texts). In order to contribute, you therefore must be in a position to grant this license, which means that either

  • you own the copyright to the material, for instance because you produced it yourself, or
  • you acquired the material from a source that allows the licensing under GFDL, for instance because the material is in the public domain or is itself published under GFDL.

In the first case, you retain copyright to your materials. You can later republish and relicense them in any way you like. However, you can never retract the GFDL license for the versions you placed here: that material will remain under GFDL forever. In the second case, if you incorporate external GFDL materials, as a requirement of the GFDL, you need to acknowledge the authorship and provide a link back to the network location of the original copy. If the original copy required invariant sections, you have to incorporate those into the FFXIclopedia article; it is however very desirable to replace GFDL texts with invariant sections by original content without invariant sections whenever possible.

Using copyrighted work from others

If you use part of a copyrighted work under "fair use", or if you obtain special permission to use a copyrighted work from the copyright holder under the terms of our license, you must make a note of that fact (along with names and dates).

Never use materials that infringe the copyrights of others. This could create legal liabilities and seriously hurt the project. If in doubt, write it yourself.

Note that copyright law governs the creative expression of ideas, not the ideas or information themselves. Therefore, it is perfectly legal to read an encyclopedia article or other work, reformulate it in your own words, and submit it to FFXIclopedia. (See plagerism and fair use for discussions of how much reformulation is necessary in a general context.)

Linking to copyrighted works

Linking to copyrighted works is usually not a problem, as long as you have made a reasonable effort to determine that the page in question is not violating someone else's copyright. If it is, please do not link to the page. Whether such a link is contributory infringement is currently being debated in the courts, but in any case, linking to a site that illegally distributes someone else's work sheds a bad light on us.

If you find a copyright infringement

It is not the job of rank-and-file FFXIclopedians to police every article for possible copyright infringement, but if you suspect one, you should at the very least bring up the issue on that page's talk page. Others can then examine the situation and take action if needed. The most helpful piece of information you can provide is a URL or other reference to what you believe may be the source of the text.

Some cases will be false alarms. For example, if the contributor was in fact the author of the text that is published elsewhere under different terms, that does not affect their right to post it here under the GFDL. Also, sometimes you will find text elsewhere on the Web that was copied from FFXIclopedia. In both of these cases, it is a good idea to make a note in the talk page to discourage such false alarms in the future.

If some of the content of a page really is an infringement, then the infringing content should be removed, and a note to that effect should be made on the talk page, along with the original source. If the author's permission is obtained later, the text can be restored.

If all of the content of a page is a suspected copyright infringement, then the page should be listed on FFXIclopedia:Copyright problems and the content of the article replaced by the standard notice which you can find there. If, after a week, the page still appears to be a copyright infringement, then it may be deleted following the procedures on the votes page.

In extreme cases of contributors continuing to post copyrighted material after appropriate warnings, such users may be blocked from editing to protect the project.

If you are the owner of FFXIclopedia-hosted content being used without your permission

If you are the owner of content that is being used on Wikipedia without your permission, then you may request the page be immediately removed from Wikipedia by following this link. You can also contact our Designated agent to have it permanently removed, but it may take up to a week for the page to be deleted that way (you may also blank the page but the text will still be in the page history). Either way, we will, of course, need some evidence to support your claim of ownership.

Sources

This page has been copied and modified to fit the needs of FFXIclopedia from the Wikipedia Copyrights page.