User:Ram-Man/Licensing Guide

GFDL Licensing

There is often confusion about how to license a GFDL image. It is not sufficient merely to list my name with the picture. If you'd like that type of license, you'll have to ask.

The GFDL requires all the following:

1. Inclusion of all copyright notices in the original image, including the author's name.
2. A notice stating that the GFDL v.1.2 license applies.
3. A physical copy of the license text itself (if printed) or the full text of the license in digital format. Providing the link to the official text is insufficient.
4. In general, the entire document containing the image must be licensed under the GFDL, not just the image itself. The idea is that if you use one of the pictures for free, it is only fair that the document using the pictures must also be free.

If you do all of these things, you do not have to seek special permission to use the image, although I appreciate it if you let me know when and how the images are used. For any other use, alternate terms must be negotiated with me. Please contact me or email me with your specific request. See below for some examples.

Creative Commons Attribution ShareAlike

In a few of my images I use the Creative Commons Attribution ShareAlike (CC-By-Sa) license. This license mainly differs from the GFDL in that merely providing a web link is sufficient to satisfy the copy of the license requirement. If an image is not already licensed under these terms, you must ask for permission.

Commercial

Since the GFDL is too restrictive for many uses, I will also license almost all of my images for commercial publications for reasonable, standard stock photography fees. The exact fee depends on things like size, placement, and distribution.

Private, Non-Profit, Non-Commercial

If you'd like to use the image for limited, non-commercial, non-profit and/or private usage, I'll often approve with fewer restrictions. Just ask. I will most often approve the usage under these terms like these examples:

You may freely use this image on a personal, non-commercial website or electronic document provided that: It is unmodified (except for resizing, cropping, and brightness/contrast adjustments) You link the image back to the original: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:<IMAGE_NAME_GOES_HERE> You must legibly include the following credit line (including links without nofollow) along with the image, © <a href="https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/User:Ram-Man">Derek Ramsey</a> / <a href="https://derekramsey.com">derekramsey.com</a> / Used with permission so it produces "© Derek Ramsey / derekramsey.com / Used with permission" You do not need to release any derivative works under this same license. For printed media include all of the above information that is possible for the format.

Other Free Content Licenses

If you'd like to use one of my images under a different license, such as the Creative Commons By-ShareAlike license, just drop me a line explaining your situation. For personal philosophical reasons I don't license all of my pictures under these licenses, but I'll usually allow it on a case-by-case basis.