Forum:Replacing unfree images

Discussion
I just did a quick check to see how many images we have that claim to be copyrighted - and found tons of them. Checking some, mainly actor images, I also found that often a previous "free" image was replaced with a later "unfree" one.

Just as a small reminder, this is still supposed to be a free (CCL) encyclopedia, and I believe this doesn't just mean the text.

My suggestion would be to:
 * 1) ask copyright owners of existing images to re-license their images under the CC license we generally use OR
 * 2) start replacing copyrighted images with free (including "fair use") alternatives AND
 * 3) restrict the upload of copyrighted images in the future.

Any opinions? -- Cid Highwind 22:38, 15 October 2007 (UTC)

Regarding #2 from above, "replacing with free alternatives" - first, obviously "fair use" images aren't better than copyrighted images we use with permission, but worse. If we already have an image we use with permission, we shouldn't go back to using an image ''without.

Second, I found this Flickr search page for images that use exactly the license that is the standard here. Images found there can simply be used here by adding a image ccl template, like already done here: File:Simon Pegg.jpg. Other CC license variants might probably be used as well using licensing with license=other. -- Cid Highwind 11:43, 20 October 2007 (UTC)

Copyrighted images
The following images are claimed to be copyrighted by the uploader. If a free replacement exists, it should be used:  category=Memory_Alpha_images_by_license_(copyright) mode=category 