Copyright violations

This page is a policy on Bharatpedia.
Many people agree with it. They see it as a standard idea that all users should follow. When changing this page (except for minor errors like typos), please check that other people agree with your changes. Use the talk page when you are not sure or when you want to suggest a change.

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This page in a nutshell: Do not add content to Bharatpedia unless you are confident that doing so is not a copyright violation. Contributors should take steps to remove copyright violations that they find.

One of the most important aspects of Bharatpedia is that its text is intended to be freely redistributed, reused and built upon by anyone, subject to the terms of the applicable Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International License (CC BY-SA) and any other licence expressly identified for particular material. Contributors agree to release their original content under the applicable Bharatpedia licence when they submit it. Material from public-domain sources or other compatibly licensed sources may also be used in accordance with the copyright policy, provided that the applicable attribution and licence requirements are followed.

However, copying material without the permission of the copyright holder from sources that are not in the public domain or compatibly licensed is generally unacceptable, unless the particular use is permitted by an applicable exception under Indian copyright law and Bharatpedia's policies.

In particular, inserting text copied from another source with only minor changes can still infringe copyright where the resulting text substantially reproduces protected expression. This is commonly referred to as close paraphrasing. Close paraphrasing may also constitute plagiarism and may violate the attribution or licensing requirements applicable to the source.

Copyright violations are treated seriously because they can interfere with Bharatpedia's ability to provide freely reusable content and may expose contributors or the project to legal disputes.

The situation for images and other media is different in that Bharatpedia may accept a wider variety of licences and, in limited circumstances, certain non-free material where its use is permitted by applicable Indian law and Bharatpedia's non-free content policy. Media that is not available under a suitable free licence and does not satisfy Bharatpedia's requirements for non-free use should generally be assumed to be unacceptable.

See Bharatpedia:Image use policy and Bharatpedia:Non-free content for details, and Bharatpedia:Guide to image deletion for suggested procedures for handling problematic images and other media.

Copyright-infringing material should also not be linked to where the contributor knows or reasonably suspects that the linked copy is an unauthorised distribution of copyrighted material.

Dealing with copyright violations[edit source]

Policy shortcut:

Bharatpedia:DCV

Handling suspected copyright violations depends on the facts of the particular case. Contributors should avoid making accusations of infringement without a reasonable basis and should provide the suspected source whenever possible.

Other websites copying Bharatpedia[edit source]

If you suspect a copyright violation, but are uncertain whether the content was copied from an external source to Bharatpedia or vice versa, or whether the material is even protected by copyright, you should at least raise the issue on the article's discussion page, if active.

In such cases, the page may be tagged with {{copypaste|url=insert URL here, if known}}, unless the concern is promptly resolved.

The most useful information is normally a URL or other reliable reference to the suspected source. You may also record the concern at Bharatpedia:Copyright problems.

Some cases will be false alarms. For example, text found on another website may have been copied from Bharatpedia in the first place. In that situation, the existence of identical text on the external website does not by itself establish that Bharatpedia infringed copyright.

Where appropriate, document such reverse copying on the article's discussion page.

Contributor is copyright holder[edit source]

If the contributor is the copyright holder of the text, they may generally contribute it to Bharatpedia under the applicable Bharatpedia free-content licence even if the same material has previously been published elsewhere under different terms.

The copyright holder must have the legal authority to grant the required licence to the public.

A copyright holder cannot ordinarily provide merely a one-time private permission for material that is intended to remain available on Bharatpedia under a free-content licence. Bharatpedia's licensing model requires that users be able to reuse appropriately licensed content under the applicable free licence.

Where a copyright holder wishes to release previously published material under the applicable Bharatpedia licence, the release should be documented through Bharatpedia:Donating copyrighted materials or the relevant permission-verification procedure.

Until the licensing issue has been satisfactorily resolved, the affected material may be replaced with {{subst:copyvio|url=insert URL here}}.

Similarly, if the contributor can establish that the source has already released the material under a compatible licence or that the material is in the public domain, the material is not a copyright violation on that basis.

A note explaining the situation should normally be placed on the article's discussion page, including the URL or other evidence of the licence or release where available.

Permission conveyed by e-mail should be verified through Bharatpedia's established permission process where appropriate.

Proper attribution should be provided where required by the applicable licence.

Parts of article violate copyright[edit source]

If there is a strong reason to suspect that some, but not all, of the content of a page infringes copyright, the suspected infringing material should be removed or replaced where appropriate.

Where possible, include the suspected source URL in the edit summary.

If the infringing material remains in the page history and Bharatpedia provides a revision-deletion or suppression mechanism, an administrator may remove or restrict access to the affected revisions in accordance with the applicable policy.

A request may be made by placing {{copyvio-revdel}} on the article or by contacting an administrator through the appropriate channel.

A note explaining the removal may also be placed on the discussion page, together with the original source where known.

{{subst:Cclean|url=insert URL or description of source here (optional)}} may be used for this purpose.

If the copyright holder's permission is subsequently obtained and the licence is compatible with Bharatpedia's requirements, the material may be restored where appropriate.

All of article violates copyright[edit source]

If all or substantially all of a page appears to consist of copyright-infringing material, first check the page history.

If an older, non-infringing version of the page exists, the page should normally be reverted to that version.

A revert undertaken solely to remove infringing material is not treated as an ordinary content dispute.

If no suitable older version exists, contributors should consider whether the page can be rewritten from scratch using independently researched information and appropriately cited sources.

A rewrite should not merely reproduce the same protected expression in slightly altered language.

If a non-infringing rewrite cannot reasonably be produced, the page may need to be deleted.

Administrators may remove obvious copyright violations in accordance with Bharatpedia's speedy-deletion policy. Where applicable, contributors may tag such pages using {{db-copyvio}}.

If the criteria for speedy deletion do not apply, and there is a reasonable prospect that the article can be rewritten without infringement, the page or affected section may be temporarily replaced with {{subst:copyvio|url=insert URL here}} and listed at Bharatpedia:Copyright problems.

This allows interested contributors to investigate the source, verify permission, or prepare an independent rewrite.

If, after the applicable review period, the material still appears to infringe copyright and no usable rewrite or licence verification is provided, the page may be deleted or reduced to a non-infringing stub in accordance with Bharatpedia's deletion policies.

Addressing contributors[edit source]

Shortcut

Bharatpedia:CVREPEAT

If you can identify the contributor responsible for potentially infringing material, notify them of Bharatpedia's copyright policy and the applicable contributor terms.

When a page has been tagged for copyright investigation or speedy deletion, the relevant template may provide an appropriate notice.

You may also use the copyright-related templates listed at Bharatpedia:Template index/User talk namespace.

If a contributor has already been clearly warned about copyright infringement but continues to post copyrighted material without permission or another valid legal basis, seek assistance from an administrator familiar with copyright policy or report the matter through the appropriate administrators' noticeboard.

Repeated infringement may result in editing restrictions or blocks under Bharatpedia's blocking policy.

Contributors who repeatedly upload copyrighted files or place infringing text into numerous articles may be blocked without further warning where necessary to protect Bharatpedia.

Blocks may remain in place until the contributor provides reasonable assurances that the infringement will not continue and, where appropriate, assists with identifying and cleaning up problematic contributions.

Presumptive deletion[edit source]

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Where a contributor has been demonstrated to have made extensive copyright violations, administrators may take into account the contributor's established history when assessing other substantial contributions by the same contributor.

However, copyright infringement should not be presumed solely because a contributor has previously made an infringement.

Any broader review should be proportionate, evidence-based and consistent with Bharatpedia's applicable deletion and contributor policies.

Information for copyright owners[edit source]

If you are a copyright owner or represent a copyright owner, and you believe that material on Bharatpedia infringes your copyright, you should contact Bharatpedia through its designated copyright-reporting channel.

A copyright complaint should identify:

the copyrighted work;
the Bharatpedia page, file or revision where the material appears;
the URL of the relevant Bharatpedia page or file;
the material alleged to infringe copyright;
information establishing the complainant's ownership or authority to act; and
any other information reasonably necessary to evaluate the claim.

Bharatpedia may request additional information or evidence where necessary.

Because copyright complaints may be reviewed by volunteers or administrators, an immediate response cannot necessarily be guaranteed.

Bharatpedia will assess copyright complaints in accordance with applicable Indian law, the project's policies, and the circumstances of the particular case.

Statutory rights and legal remedies[edit source]

Copyright owners retain any rights and remedies available to them under applicable Indian law.

Bharatpedia's internal copyright-reporting process does not replace statutory remedies available under the Copyright Act, 1957 or other applicable law.

Where a formal legal notice, court order or other legally significant communication is received, it should be directed to Bharatpedia's designated legal or copyright contact.

Licensing content to Bharatpedia[edit source]

If you are a copyright owner and would like to make your material freely reusable on Bharatpedia, see Bharatpedia:Donating copyrighted materials.

A copyright owner may release material under the applicable Bharatpedia free-content licence or another licence accepted by Bharatpedia.

The release should clearly identify the work, the copyright holder, the rights being granted and any applicable licence conditions.

Notes[edit source]

Resources[edit source]

Policies, guidelines and information pages[edit source]

Bharatpedia:Copy-paste: a simple explanation of Bharatpedia's copyright policies
Bharatpedia:Copyright violations 101: a guide to identifying and handling copyright problems
Bharatpedia:Copyright: Bharatpedia's main copyright policy
Bharatpedia:FAQ/Copyright: frequently asked questions about copyright
Bharatpedia:Non-free content: policy concerning limited use of non-free material
Bharatpedia:Public domain: guidance on identifying public-domain material
Bharatpedia:Mirrors and forks: information about unauthorised reuse of Bharatpedia content
Bharatpedia:Copying within Bharatpedia: guidance on moving and copying Bharatpedia content
Bharatpedia:Plagiarism: guidance on plagiarism
Bharatpedia:Guide to image deletion: procedures for handling problematic media files
Bharatpedia:Donating copyrighted materials: information for copyright holders who wish to release their works
Bharatpedia:Requesting copyright permission: information on obtaining permission from copyright holders
Bharatpedia:Copyright and Indian law: information concerning relevant Indian copyright provisions

Noticeboards[edit source]

Bharatpedia:Copyright problems: the board for reporting suspected copyright violations
Bharatpedia:Contributor copyright investigations: the board for investigating repeated or extensive infringement
Bharatpedia:Files for discussion: the board for reviewing non-free files and their copyright status
Bharatpedia:External links/Noticeboard: the board for reviewing problematic external links
Bharatpedia:Media copyright questions: the board for questions concerning media copyright

Other resources[edit source]