Copyrighted media files may be used in Wikipedia articles on a limited basis, provided they satisfy both the legal test for fair use and Wikipedia's own guidelines for non-free content, found at Wikipedia:Non-free content. Each image or audio file has a file page where any fair-use concerns must be addressed.
Please note: Copyrighted images that can reasonably be replaced by free images may not be used on Wikipedia.
For non-free content, each image page must include:
- A copyright tag to claim fair use. Wikipedia's file upload function and wizard each help editors choose an appropriate tag. A list is below. Non-free images that meet Wikipedia's policy but do not fit into any of the categories below should use the tag {{Non-free fair use in|Article}}.
- A statement describing the source of the media.
- A separate "non-free use rationale" for each use in a Wikipedia article. Instructions, guidelines, samples, and templates are available at Wikipedia:Non-free use rationale guideline.
List
Art
- {{Non-free 2D art}}—for low resolution images of two dimensional works of art under copyright.
- {{Non-free 3D art}}—for low resolution images of three dimensional works of art under copyright.
Audio and music
- {{Non-free audio sample}}—for 30 second or shorter Ogg Vorbis audio files of reduced quality.
- {{Non-free music interface}}—for audios played with sheet music of reduced quality.
- {{Non-free sheet music}}—for images of sheet music, whether scanned or recreated, but not sheet music covers.
- {{Non-free speech}}—for spoken word audio clips of historic events, such as speeches by public figures.
Cover art
- {{Non-free album cover}}—for music album or single covers.
- {{Non-free board game cover}}—for board game cover art.
- {{Non-free book cover}}—for book covers.
- {{Non-free comic}}—for comic book covers or interior pages (trade paperbacks and the like go under {{Book cover}}, however).
- {{Non-free video game cover}}—for video game covers.
- {{Non-free magazine cover}}—for magazine covers.
- {{Non-free newspaper image}}—for scans of entire newspaper pages.
- {{Non-free product cover}}-for general branded product covers.
- {{Non-free software cover}}—for other software covers.
- {{Non-free video cover}}—for videotape, DVD, Blu-ray Disc, etc. covers.
Logos
- {{Non-free computer icon}}—for computer software icons
- {{Non-free logo}}—for logos. See Wikipedia:Logos.
- {{Non-free Scout logo}}—for logos of Scouting and Guiding organisations.
- {{Non-free Mozilla logo}}—for Mozilla logos, notes that these logos may be freely used for non-commercial purposes
- {{Non-free seal}}—for an official seal of a government entity/agency.
- {{Non-free symbol}}—for symbols such as flags and coats of arms where the symbol holder owns the copyright on the image
Promotional material
Fair use on Wikipedia only applies if it is not possible to replace such promotional image with a free image.
- {{Non-free promotional}}—for an image freely provided to promote an item, as in a promotional photo in a press packet
- {{Non-free poster}}—for poster images of reduced quality.
Publicity photos
Fair use on Wikipedia only applies if it is not possible to replace such publicity image with a free image.
- {{Non-free AUSPIC}}—for official photographs of Australian federal politicians from AUSPIC
- {{Non-free promotional}}—for publicity photographs of people or events, such as headshots or posed shots, from a press kit.
Screenshots
- {{Non-free game screenshot}}—for screenshots of video games
- {{Non-free software screenshot}}—for screenshots of software
- Note: for screenshots of free and open source software, you can use {{free screenshot}} (Warning: you need to indicate the actual license separately, read the template doc first). In this case, consider uploading your file to Wikimedia Commons if possible.
- {{Non-free Microsoft screenshot}}—for screenshots of a commercially-released Microsoft product.
- {{Non-free video screenshot}}—Screenshots from videos (use more specific tag if possible)
- {{Non-free film screenshot}}—Screenshots from movies
- {{Non-free music video screenshot}}—Screenshots or stills from music videos or other promotional videos for music artists
- {{Non-free television screenshot}}—Screenshots from television programs
- {{Non-free web screenshot}}—for screenshots of web pages.
- Note that this tag is NOT appropriate for an image on a webpage, EVEN IF the ENTIRE CONTENT of that page is the image. Fair Use is for identification and critical commentary relating only to the website, NOT the image. For identification and critical commentary relating specifically to the image, see "Art" above.
- {{Non-free vodcast screenshot}}—for screenshots of video podcasts.
- {{Wikipedia-screenshot}}—for screenshots of Wikipedia pages
Stamps and currency
- {{Non-free currency}}—for images of the official currency of a country that may be copyrighted.
- {{Non-free stamp}}—for images of postage stamps that may be copyrighted.
- {{Non-free stamp of Canada}}—for images of Canadian stamps issued in 1958 or later.
- {{Non-free stamp of India}}—for images of Indian stamps issued in 1948 or later.
- {{Non-free USGov-USPS stamp}}—for images of U.S. stamps issued in 1978 or later.
UK government
- {{Non-free Crown copyright}}- For material under UK Crown copyright, which is incompatible with the terms of the Open Government Licence {{OGL}} per Section 8.2 of the OGL Framework
- {{Non-free Parliamentary copyright}} - for material under UK Parliamentary copyright. Please note that as commercial distribution is not permitted this license is non-free for the purposes of Wikipedia, hence images uploaded under this template must still specify a rationale.
Other
- {{Non-free biog-pic}}—to provide visual identification of a specific individual or group for whom there is no freely-licensed content, and who is deceased, or impossible or impractical to access
- {{Non-free character}}—for artwork depicting a character from a comic book, video game, or animated television program or film
- {{Non-free Denver Public Library image|imgurl=image url|callno=call number}}—for photographs from the photography collection of the Denver Public Library.
- {{Non-free Otto Perry image|imgurl=image url|callno=call number}}—for photographs from the Otto Perry collection of the Denver Public Library
- {{Non-free ESA media}}—for images taken by the ESA ESA Multimedia Gallery
- {{Non-free historic image}}—for unique, famous historical images
- {{Non-free Olympics media}}—for Olympic-related images, this contains a set of parameters that convey to logos, posters, mascots, et cetera.
Supplemental
These tags cannot be used on their own. Any files using these tags must have one of the previously mentioned tags.
- {{Non-free Old-50}}—for media copyrighted in the United States whose author died more than 50 years ago and is in the public domain in a few other countries
- {{Non-free Old-60}}—for media copyrighted in the United States whose author died more than 60 years ago and is in the public domain in a other countries
- {{Non-free Old-70}}—for media copyrighted in the United States whose author died more than 70 years ago and is in the public domain in most other countries
- {{Non-free Old-75}}—for media copyrighted in the United States whose author died more than 75 years ago and is in the public domain in most other countries
- {{Non-free Old-80}}—for media copyrighted in the United States whose author died more than 80 years ago and is in the public domain in all countries in Europe, Asia, Oceania, and other countries.
- {{Non-free with NC}}—for media with a noncommercial reuse license
- {{Non-free with NC and ND}}—for media with a combined noncommercial reuse and no derivative works license
- {{Non-free with ND}}—for media with a no derivative works license
- {{Non-free with permission}}—for fair use media for which we also have permission to use on Wikipedia
- {{Not-PD-US-URAA}}—for media whose copyright was restored in the United States by the Uruguay Round Agreements Act (URAA)
- {{Non-free no treaty}}—for media from a country without a copyright treaty with the United States, and copyrighted in its home country