FamilySearch Wiki:Copyrights

	This page explains a policy, a widely accepted standard that all contributors should normally follow.
Please visit the talk page to add comments or suggestions for further development of the policy.

copyright symbol

public domain symbol

Usage of this site is governed by the FamilySearch Conditions of Use. Most contributions are governed by the Creative Commons license, or are in the public domain. Before placing any copyrighted material on this site be sure to review the Creative Commons license and make sure that if you are not the copyright holder that you have permission from the copyright holder to contribute the copyrighted material.

Materials which infringe on copyrights must not be added. Only copyright owners may place copyrighted materials on the Research Wiki unless the contributor has received the written consent of the copyright owner. Materials from other Creative Commons sites (look for the Creative Commons icon at the bottom of each page on the site) can be placed on this site without concern. Care should be taken to always properly attribute sources, and to show the corresponding license tag(s) in any copied image file's description. When there are infrigements, that information will be deleted from the page.

The only exceptions to this rule are the following types of images, which will include proper licensing and attribution:

• Images from FamilySearch Historical Record Collections
• Genealogical organization logos
• Personal images on user pages

Guidelines

• The {{Copyright}} template may be added to a page to inform the reader and editors of the page that the content appears to contain copyrighted material.
• Make the editors concerned aware of the Research Wiki guideline to FamilySearch Wiki:Link, Don’t Copy

External links

• Cornell University's PDF easy to read explanation of terms of copyright and the Public Domain for use in the United States
• Wikipedia article on the subject of Creative Commons licenses
• Creative Commons license cc by-sa-3.0-us deed
• Creative Commons license cc by-nc-3.0-us deed
• The most annoying copyright issue - Blog post by James Tanner about unclear copyright claims/assumptions
• For reuse of Historical Records Collection images in the US, see the FAQ section for Can I use someone else's work?