Bharatpedia:Copyrights

"BP:C" and "BP:COPY" redirect here. For other uses, see BP:C (disambiguation) and BP:COPY (disambiguation).

Important note:

 Please do not ask Bharatpedia for permission to reuse article text or images.

Bharatpedia does not ordinarily own the copyright in content contributed by its editors and therefore cannot grant permission for material whose copyright belongs to someone else.

 When to contact Bharatpedia

Contact Bharatpedia regarding its trademarks, specific copyright complaints, licensing questions, or material whose copyright is owned or administered by Bharatpedia.

 Reusing Bharatpedia article text

Bharatpedia text is intended to be freely reusable under the applicable free-content licence, provided that the reuser complies with the licence terms, provides the required attribution, and licenses adaptations as required.

 Reusing images

Images and other media on Bharatpedia are not necessarily covered by the same licence as article text. Each file has its own copyright and licensing information. Some files may be freely reusable, while others may be subject to separate restrictions or statutory exceptions.

The text of Bharatpedia is protected by copyright unless it is in the public domain or otherwise not protected by copyright. Copyright in original contributions generally remains with the respective authors or other copyright holders, subject to the licence under which the material is contributed to Bharatpedia.

Most original Bharatpedia text is intended to be made available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International License (CC BY-SA), unless otherwise stated. Some material may be available under another compatible licence or under a separate licence specified on the relevant page or file description.

Each image, audio file, video, illustration, photograph, diagram and other media file has its own copyright status and licensing information. A file may therefore have different reuse conditions from the article in which it appears.

The licences used by Bharatpedia grant broad rights to access, copy, modify and redistribute licensed content, subject to the terms of the applicable licence. Under CC BY-SA, reusers must provide appropriate attribution and, where applicable, license adaptations under the same or a compatible ShareAlike licence. "Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International". Creative Commons.

This policy explains Bharatpedia's interpretation of those rights and obligations as they apply to contributors and reusers. The applicable licence itself remains legally controlling.

Governing copyright law

Bharatpedia operates primarily with reference to the copyright law applicable in India.

The principal legislation is the Copyright Act, 1957, together with the Copyright Rules, 2013, as amended from time to time, and other applicable Indian laws and regulations.

The Copyright Act provides the principal statutory framework for copyright in India, including copyright ownership, exclusive rights, infringement, exceptions and limitations, moral rights, licensing and remedies.

Where this policy conflicts with a mandatory provision of applicable Indian law, the law prevails.

This page is a Bharatpedia community policy and is not legal advice.

Contributors' rights and obligations

If you contribute original text directly to Bharatpedia, you generally retain the copyright in that contribution, subject to the licence under which you publish it.

By submitting original text under Bharatpedia's applicable free-content licence, you grant the public the rights specified by that licence to reuse, copy, distribute and modify the material.

You should not submit material if you do not have the right to license it under the applicable Bharatpedia licence.

Non-text media may be contributed under a variety of licences, provided that the licence and copyright status are clearly identified and compatible with Bharatpedia's media policies.

Importing text from elsewhere

If you want to import text that you have found elsewhere, you may do so only where the material is:

1. your own original work and you have the right to license it;

1. in the public domain;

1. available under a licence compatible with the applicable Bharatpedia licence;

1. released by the copyright holder under terms permitting its use on Bharatpedia; or

1. otherwise lawfully usable under a specific applicable exception or limitation under Indian law.

You should verify the copyright and licensing status before importing substantial material.

If the source requires attribution or preservation of licence information, that information must be retained.^

Donating previously published material

If you are the copyright owner and wish to contribute material that has previously been published elsewhere, you must ensure that the material is being contributed under a licence compatible with Bharatpedia's licensing requirements.

Where someone other than the contributor owns the copyright, permission must be obtained from the copyright holder before the material is contributed, unless another valid legal basis for use applies.

Where appropriate, permission should be documented through Bharatpedia's established permission-verification procedure.

Copyright ownership

Contributing material to Bharatpedia does not, by itself, transfer ownership of copyright to Bharatpedia.

Copyright ownership may nevertheless belong to an employer, commissioning party, Government authority or another person or entity depending on the circumstances and applicable law.

Contributors should verify ownership before licensing material to Bharatpedia.

A contributor cannot later revoke or restrict a licence already granted to the public merely by deleting their contribution, although the contributor retains any rights that are reserved by the applicable licence and by law.

Using copyrighted work from others

Creative works are generally protected by copyright unless copyright has expired, does not subsist, has been validly licensed, or an applicable statutory exception permits the particular use.

Bharatpedia's objective is to make as much content as possible freely reusable. Accordingly, original works released under free licences and works in the public domain are strongly preferred.

If you want to import media, including text, from another source, you should determine whether it is freely licensed, public domain, or otherwise legally usable before uploading it.

If the material is available under a compatible licence requiring attribution, the author and other required attribution information must be credited in a reasonable manner.

If you have obtained specific permission from a copyright holder, the permission should clearly identify the work, the rights granted, and the relevant licence or conditions.

Never knowingly use material that infringes the copyright of another person.

Copyright infringement can create legal liability and may require the removal of the infringing material from Bharatpedia.

If in doubt, the preferred approach is to write the material yourself based on independently verified facts and cite the underlying sources.

Copyright protects expression, not facts

Copyright protects original expression rather than facts, ideas, concepts, procedures, methods or information as such.

It is generally permissible to research information from a copyrighted source and express the underlying facts in your own words.

However, merely changing a few words, rearranging sentences, or making superficial modifications to another person's expression may still constitute infringement.

Independent writing should therefore be sufficiently distinct from the source material while accurately citing the source.

Failure to attribute a source may also constitute plagiarism or violate applicable licence terms even where the underlying facts themselves are not protected by copyright.

Linking to copyrighted works

Bharatpedia articles may link to copyrighted books, newspapers, journals, websites and other works.

It is generally not necessary to obtain a copyright owner's permission merely to provide a lawful hyperlink to a copyrighted work.

However, contributors should not knowingly link to websites or copies that unlawfully distribute copyrighted works where an authorised or lawful source is available.

When possible, contributors should prefer links to the original publisher, rights holder, Government authority, academic institution or other legitimate source.

Context and source quality

Context is important when linking to external material.

A link to a reputable publication may be appropriate even where that publication itself contains copyrighted photographs, quotations or other material.

Contributors should nevertheless avoid directly linking to unlawfully distributed copies when a legitimate source is available.

Copyright exceptions under Indian law

Indian copyright law contains specific statutory exceptions and limitations.

Section 52 of the Copyright Act, 1957 provides that certain acts do not constitute copyright infringement.

In particular, Section 52 recognises fair dealing with certain works for specified purposes, including:

• private or personal use, including research;
• criticism or review; and
• reporting of current events and current affairs, including reporting of a lecture delivered in public.

Other statutory exceptions may apply to particular types of works or uses.

Fair dealing is not a general permission to reproduce copyrighted material merely because the material is useful for an encyclopedia article.

Where material can instead be created independently, obtained under a free licence, or replaced with a short necessary quotation or description, those approaches are generally preferred.

Quotations

Short quotations may be used where permitted by applicable law, including where the quotation forms part of criticism, review, reporting or another legally permitted use.

Quotations should:

• be no more extensive than reasonably necessary;
• be clearly identified as quotations;
• identify the source;
• identify the author where reasonably possible; and
• not substitute for the original work.

The use of a quotation under a statutory exception does not make the remainder of the source freely licensed.

Copyright violations

See also: Bharatpedia:Copyright problems

Contributors who repeatedly post copyrighted material without a valid licence or legal basis may have their editing privileges restricted or revoked in accordance with Bharatpedia's applicable policies.

If you suspect a copyright violation, you should raise the matter through the relevant Bharatpedia copyright-reporting process or on the article's discussion page where appropriate.

Some apparent matches may not constitute infringement. For example, material found elsewhere online may itself have originally been copied from Bharatpedia or from a public-domain source.

If a page contains material that appears to infringe copyright, the material should be removed or replaced where appropriate.

Where the entire page consists of infringing material, the page may be removed in accordance with Bharatpedia's deletion and copyright procedures.

Guidelines for images and other media files

Images, photographs, video, audio recordings, illustrations, maps and other media may be protected by copyright.

The fact that an image or media file is available on the Internet does not mean that it is freely reusable.

Media files should have an appropriate licence or copyright-status tag.

The preferred media are:

• works released under a compatible free licence;
• works in the public domain;
• original works contributed by the uploader under a compatible licence; and
• material whose use is specifically permitted by an applicable statutory exception and Bharatpedia's non-free-content policy.

Images and other media should be accompanied by appropriate source, author, copyright and licensing information.

Untagged or incorrectly tagged files may be removed.

Government works in India

See also: Bharatpedia:Copyright and Government works

Government works require particular care under Indian law.

The fact that a document, photograph, report, map or other work appears on an official Government website does not automatically mean that it is in the public domain.

The Copyright Act, 1957 contains specific provisions concerning Government works and ownership of copyright.

Accordingly, contributors should check the copyright status, licence terms and source of Government material before uploading or reproducing it.

Where a Government department or authority has expressly released material under a licence permitting reuse, contributors should comply with the applicable licence.^

Legal texts, judgments and official documents

Legal and official material requires particular care.

Contributors should distinguish between:

• legislation and other legal texts;
• judgments and court orders;
• official Government documents;
• editorial summaries;
• headnotes;
• annotations;
• commentaries;
• photographs;
• diagrams;
• databases; and
• website design and presentation.

Where possible, Bharatpedia articles should rely on authoritative primary sources while expressing explanations and summaries in original language.

The copyright status of an official document should not be assumed solely from the fact that it appears on an official website.

Moral rights

Indian copyright law recognises certain authors' special rights in addition to economic copyright.

Section 57 of the Copyright Act, 1957 recognises an author's right to claim authorship and provides protection against certain distortion, mutilation or modification of a work where the statutory requirements are met.

Bharatpedia therefore encourages contributors and reusers to preserve appropriate attribution and avoid presenting another person's work in a misleading or derogatory manner.

The applicable Creative Commons licence should also be consulted regarding rights that are not licensed by the licence itself.

Reusers' rights and obligations

Main page: Bharatpedia:Reusing Bharatpedia content

Bharatpedia content may generally be reused where the applicable licensing requirements are followed.

The applicable licence for a particular work must always be checked before reuse.

Re-use of text

Attribution

To redistribute Bharatpedia text under CC BY-SA, provide appropriate credit to the authors and source as required by the licence. A hyperlink to the Bharatpedia page, where reasonably practicable, is generally an appropriate method of attribution.

Where attribution information is supplied with the material, it should be retained as required by the applicable licence.

Copyleft/ShareAlike

If you make modifications or additions to Bharatpedia material covered by CC BY-SA, you must license the resulting adapted material in accordance with the ShareAlike requirements of the licence.

Indicate changes

If you modify, translate, abridge or otherwise adapt Bharatpedia material, you must indicate that changes were made in a reasonable manner.

Licensing notice

Copies or modified versions distributed under CC BY-SA must include the licensing information required by the licence, including a link to the licence where reasonably practicable.

The current CC BY-SA 4.0 licence is available at:

• Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International

Re-use of non-text media

Non-text media files may be available under different licences.

Users should inspect the file description page for:

• copyright holder;
• author;
• source;
• licence;
• attribution requirements;
• restrictions; and
• any applicable non-free-use rationale.

The licence applicable to an individual media file takes precedence over any general assumption about Bharatpedia's text licence.

Non-free materials and special requirements

Bharatpedia may contain limited material that is not freely licensed where its use is permitted by applicable Indian law and Bharatpedia's non-free-content policy.

Such material is not automatically covered by the CC BY-SA licence.

A person reusing Bharatpedia content must independently determine whether a particular image, quotation or other work is freely licensed or instead subject to a separate copyright restriction.

Material used under a statutory exception on Bharatpedia may therefore not be freely reusable outside the circumstances permitted by law.

Reusing text within Bharatpedia

Main page: Bharatpedia:Copying within Bharatpedia

When you move or copy text from one Bharatpedia article to another, the original source should be preserved through the page history or an appropriate edit summary.

This is particularly important when substantial text is copied between pages, because attribution requirements may otherwise become unclear.

If you reuse text that you originally wrote yourself, attribution may not be legally required in the same manner, but preserving the source history is encouraged to avoid confusion.

If you are the owner of Bharatpedia-hosted content

If you are the copyright owner of material that has been used on Bharatpedia without your permission, you may report the matter through Bharatpedia's copyright complaint procedure.

You should provide sufficient information to establish:

• the copyrighted work;
• the Bharatpedia page or file concerned;
• your ownership or authority to act;
• the material alleged to infringe your rights; and
• any relevant licence or permission information.

Bharatpedia may request additional information or evidence where necessary.

Where a copyright concern is substantiated, Bharatpedia may remove the relevant material, revision or file in accordance with its policies and applicable law.

Nothing in this policy prevents a copyright owner from exercising any rights or remedies available under Indian law.

Copyright and Bharatpedia trademarks

The Bharatpedia name, logos, marks and other branding may be subject to trademark or other rights separate from the copyright in Bharatpedia articles.

Permission to reuse Bharatpedia text does not necessarily constitute permission to use Bharatpedia trademarks, logos or branding in a way that suggests endorsement, sponsorship or affiliation.

Trademark questions should therefore be considered separately from copyright questions.

See also

• Bharatpedia:Copyright problems
• Bharatpedia:Copyright questions
• Bharatpedia:Reusing Bharatpedia content
• Bharatpedia:File copyright tags
• Bharatpedia:Non-free content
• Bharatpedia:Public domain
• Bharatpedia:Plagiarism
• Bharatpedia:Source attribution
• Bharatpedia:Permission requests
• Bharatpedia:Deletion policy

External links

• Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International