Right now there are 1,300 images in [[Category:Images from Library and Archives Canada]]. While many are PD, many others have been tagged as {{CopyrightedFreeUse}} due to some ambiguous language on the LAC website. Last fall I emailed them to ask about this, and they finally replied - turns out my suspicion was correct, and our current use violates their license.
Is there someone I should be forwarding this to? Assuming they are right, some mass deletions are in order. Curiously, they also seem to be asserting control over those images which are now PD.
---------- Forwarded message ---------- From: Copyright /droit_d'auteur <copyright/droit_d'auteur@lac-bac.gc.cadroit_d%27auteur@lac-bac.gc.ca
Date: 2008/5/4 Subject: Images on Wikepedia Website To: Cc: Copyright /droit_d'auteur <copyright/droit_d'auteur@lac-bac.gc.cadroit_d%27auteur@lac-bac.gc.ca
Dear Mr. Ryan,
Your request for information concerning the possibility to upload Library and Archives Canada images on the Wikipedia website has been referred to my attention. I had previously been contacted by another representative of your website and am answering your request along the same lines as that provided to Mr. Harden on October 22, 2007. I believed that both your requests were related and therefore initially answered only Mr. Harden. However, to close the query in our system, I am providing an independent reply to your query as well.
I have reviewed the Wikipedia website to determine the type of permissions which are granted to your users for material which is posted on your website. The terms of re-use of material which appears on your website, specifically granting permission to modify or create derivative products, does not meet our criteria to ensure that the authenticity of the original material which comes from our collections is retained. Additionally, the terms of re-use on your website state that the material can be copied and distributed directly from your website. Library and Archives Canada requires that we be contacted for any re-use of our original material and we supply the copies of the material to ensure that the authenticity is retained. This is achieved by licensing on a "one-time" use only. Any subsequent use or re-use of our material is subject to a separate license.
We are in the process of attempting to have material from our collections removed from your website which had been licensed for a specific purpose, which did not include posting on your website. Our material which is posted on your website is being advertised as having no restrictions, when in fact, there are restrictions with all our licenses, especially concerning modification and re-distribution. The various disclaimers posted on your website, relieving Wikipedia of such activities by its contributors, leads us to believe that no remedial action can be taken by Wikipedia in such instances. Taking all these factors into consideration, we are therefore not in a position to encourage posting of material from our collections on the Wikipedia website at this time. Should the terms of use on your website be modified, we would then re-examine this request and reconsider the possibility of granting a permission.
Should you have any questions with respect to this request, please do not hesitate to contact me directly.
Sincerely,
Thank you, *****Carole Cloutier* A/Manager Copyright Bureau, Services Branch Library and Archives Canada Tel: 613-992-2567 / Fax: 613-996-1341 Email: copyright/droit_d'auteur@lac-bac.gc.cadroit_d%27auteur@lac-bac.gc.ca Website: www.collectionscanada.ca