Creating a Wikipedia page for your company is a mammoth task. I’ve written several blogs on the subject. However, if you have a Wikipedia page you may want to add images to it. Successful image uploads need the correct licensing information. Additionally, editors need to prove that they have a reason to upload an image. Consequently, image uploads are the downfall of many paid Wikipedia projects. For example, The North Face shamed themselves when they tried to swap volunteer-created images of famous South American beauty spots with glossy branded images.
Images need both a valid rights basis and a useful role in the article. I have put together this guide to explain the information you should prepare and the checks involved in uploading a file to Commons and proposing its use on Wikipedia.
Purpose and rationale for adding images to a Wikipedia page
An image needs a clear encyclopaedic purpose in the article. Copyrighted images can be hosted on Wikimedia Commons when they have an acceptable free licence. Images without a free licence follow a different route: on English Wikipedia, each use must satisfy all ten non-free content criteria. An illustrative purpose alone is not enough, and Commons does not accept fair-use uploads.
Wikimedia commons
Wikimedia Commons is a repository of educational media that can be shared across Wikipedia’s language editions and other Wikimedia projects. It hosts qualifying public-domain files and copyrighted files released under an acceptable free licence. A free licence can still require attribution and other conditions; it does not mean that the file is copyright-free. Check the licence and rights information on the individual file page.
License types used to add images to a Wikipedia page
Attribution License
A Creative Commons Attribution licence permits copying and adaptation, including commercial reuse, under its stated conditions. For example, CC BY 4.0 requires appropriate credit, a link to the licence and an indication of changes. A subject’s fame, or the fact that an image depicts a building or statue, does not determine the photograph’s licence. Check the copyright holder’s licence grant and any separate rights affecting the depicted content before uploading it. The Commons licensing policy explains which licences are acceptable.
Attribution-ShareAlike License
A Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike licence permits copying and adaptation, including commercial reuse, under its stated conditions. For example, CC BY-SA 4.0 requires appropriate credit, a link to the licence and an indication of changes. Shared adaptations must use the same licence or a listed compatible licence. These permissions come from the licence; they are distinct from fair use, and reuse is not limited to Wikipedia. Check the file’s exact licence and version before reusing it.
When Wikimedia’s Volunteer Response Team needs permission evidence
Permission to use an image on Wikipedia alone is not sufficient for Commons. The copyright holder must release it under an acceptable free licence. Wikimedia’s Volunteer Response Team (VRT), formerly known as OTRS, checks and archives permission evidence when it is needed. A clear public licence statement can make an email unnecessary. Where permission needs confirmation, follow the current VRT instructions and ask the copyright holder to provide the required statement. Volunteers may request further evidence; processing times vary.
The players involved when you try to add images to a Wikipedia page about your company
Reviewing an image involves separate questions: whether its source and licence can be verified, whether it falls within Commons’ scope and whether it helps readers understand a particular Wikipedia article. The people involved may be checking different parts of that process.
The Wikimedia Foundation
- Wants quality and useful images available for use on Wikipedia pages.
- Does not want to be sued for copyright breaches.
Commons and Wikipedia editors
- Commons contributors can check the file’s source, creator and licence information against the licensing requirements.
- Files must also meet Commons’ educational scope; advertising or self-promotion alone is not an educational purpose.
- Commons administrators have additional tools, including the ability to delete and restore files.
- Wikipedia editors consider whether an image is relevant and useful in the article. The image-selection guidance explains that decision.
Volunteer Response Team (VRT)
- Reviews submitted permission evidence and archives the correspondence.
- May ask for further information if the copyright holder’s authority or licence grant is unclear.
- Publishes current queue information in the VRT guidance; there is no fixed completion time.
A file’s presence on Commons does not guarantee that it belongs in a particular Wikipedia article. Prepare a clear source, creator and licence record, then explain the image’s relevance to the article. Clear documentation helps reviewers check the evidence; it does not guarantee acceptance or retention.
Using Flickr to document an image’s source and licence
Flickr can provide a public source and licence statement for an image. It does not bypass copyright checks. The person granting the licence must have the necessary rights, and the licence must be acceptable to Commons. A professional-looking account does not establish either point. See the current Commons guidance for Flickr files before transferring an image.
Establish provenance through Flickr
Make the connection between the image, its creator and the account publishing it clear. Link to the Flickr photo page that displays the licence, rather than only to the image file. An official website link and consistent publication history can help reviewers investigate provenance, but they do not replace evidence of copyright ownership or a valid licence. The examples below may help identify the source; none proves ownership on its own.
Additionally, the content type helps establish provenance. i.e photos that only an official source could have.
Here are some examples;
- Pre-published images at a higher resolution.
- Behind the scenes content.
- Alternate takes from a known photoshoot.
- Image themes linked between other platforms. ie. a partial version of an image on Instagram and a full version of the image on Flickr.
- Regularly uploading content to Flickr shows that uploaders are using the account for ongoing general purposes.
- Establish the account for a broad purpose.
Note, additional content does not need the same licensing as the pictures you intend to use on Wikipedia.
How to repost an image from Flickr to Wikimedia Commons.
If you have followed the above steps to the best of your ability, you might be able to add images to from Flickr Wikimedia commons. Here’s how…
- Go to the commons uploader.
- Then, copy the URL to the “Share images from Flickr” section.
- Next, add a detailed caption aimed at bots and the blind.
- Also, add as many relevant categories as possible.
- Furthermore, link to the Wikidata page about the subject.
- And, match the content style to other images for similar subjects.
Commons reviews the licence of files transferred from Flickr, using a bot or an authorised reviewer. A licence label does not prove that the Flickr uploader owns the rights. Resolve any uncertainty about ownership or permission before uploading; simply waiting between publication on Flickr and transfer to Commons does not resolve it.
Image maintenance
Monitor the file page and your Commons talk page after uploading. Read any notice carefully and respond with the source, licence or permission evidence it requests. Under the Commons deletion policy, regular deletion requests can generally be closed after seven days, but may remain open longer. A nomination does not mean that deletion is inevitable. Obvious copyright violations can be deleted sooner; a copyrighted image with an acceptable free licence is not automatically a violation. If permission confirmation is needed, follow the current VRT instructions.
