Copyright and Licensing
The aim of Wikimedia Commons is to provide a media file repository "that makes available public domain and freely-licensed educational media content to all, and that acts as a common repository for the various projects of the Wikimedia Foundation."
Wikimedia operates a Copyleft policy. If you'd like to find out more about Creative Commons licensing, visit: About CC Licenses - Creative Commons.
- Video: What is Creative Commons?
- When you take a photo, make music or shoot a video it’s yours, you own it. You also own the copyright. Which means you decide how it is used and who can use it and if it can be copied and shared (or remixed). Creative Commons is a set of licenses that enable lawful collaboration to do things like copy, share and remix. Creative Commons is a way to give permission to everyone to freely reuse your creative works. Hundreds of sites use these licenses: Wikipedia, YouTube, Archive.org, Vimeo, Soundcloud, Flickr, Bandcamp, Boundless, Jamendo, TED, Musopen, The Metropolitan Museum of Art, Free Music Archive, Freesound. Creative Commons makes us all more free to create. Copy, share and remix free media on Wikimedia Commons: https://commons.wikimedia.org
How can I ensure that this media can be uploaded to Wikimedia Commons?
A useful decision tree is below to help you avoid copyright infringement. Only openly-licensed content may be uploaded to Wikimedia Commons. For more information about licensing on Commons, see: Commons:Licensing - Wikimedia Commons
