Talk:Torres Strait Islander flag

Are you sure this isn't vandalism
sure There's no references cited in the article and the pattern on the flag looks like someone with a star face mooning the observer. It is difficult to believe so99uimeone would actually choose this for their flag. Could this be a joke? —Preceding unsigned comment added by 192.168.1.101 (talk • contribs)
 * It's for real: see the 2008 Proclamation, now added. Please sign your comments by typing four tildes (~).  --Wikiain (talk) 01:34, 13 July 2011 (UTC)

Referencing
Shiftchange: do you think the referencing is now sufficient? --Wikiain (talk) 02:11, 14 July 2011 (UTC)
 * I've added more referencing and removed the tag. --Wikiain (talk) 00:28, 18 July 2011 (UTC)

Copyright permission
There has been considerable and inconsistent, though all well-intentioned, discussion about copyright in this flag and in the Australian Aboriginal Flag. The flags might be referred to in the "fair use" campaign that it seems Wikipedia will launch in Australia today. A lawyer suggests that he should write as follows to the owner of copyright in the Torres Strait Islander Flag. Comments are invited. If there are no objections, the message will be sent in 48 hours.

Proposed message to the Torres Strait Island Regional Authority:

Dear Colleagues

You may have seen this story on Monday in the Sydney Morning Herald and maybe other Fairfax newspapers about Wikipedia’s concern with Australian restrictions on fair use of copyright material: http://www.smh.com.au/federal-politics/political-news/fair-use-wikipedia-targets-australians-in-bid-to-change-the-law-20170521-gw9kzq.html

I do not represent Wikipedia and am not sure who would do so for questions of single copyrights – certainly not an individual contributor. However, contributors to Wikipedia have had considerable discussion over whether Wikipedia is able to reproduce the Torres Strait Islander Flag and the Australian Aboriginal Flag by way of fair use.

Since Wikipedia is based in the USA, this is primarily a question of US law. US law permits free reproduction of artistic works that are of relatively simple design (which is not a judgement of their artistic or other value). Wikipedia contributors have concluded that this covers the Australian Aboriginal Flag but not the Torres Strait Islander Flag. Consequently, the Torres Strait Islander Flag has just been removed from the article “Indigenous Australians” and may have to be removed from the article about the flag itself. It may then also be advisable to remove the Australian Aboriginal Flag from the article “Indigenous Australians”, so as to avoid any suggestion that it may represent all Indigenous Australians.

The status of these flags as official Flags of Australia permits only free display of them without copyright permission. It does not permit their reproduction without copyright permission, even for non-commercial purposes - as is the case with Wikipedia. On the contrary, the Australian government instructs that copyright owners’ permission be sought.

I am sure that no contributor to Wikipedia has any problem with seeking permission to reproduce the Torres Strait Islander Flag. The difficulty is: how can that permission be sought and then notified to Wikipedia?

Equally, I anticipate that you will generally approve of reproducing the Torres Strait Islander Flag in Wikipedia, as the best available means of informing Australians and the world about the flag and its provenance.

I propose the following solution:

1.	Kindly place on the Talk page of the article “Torres Strait Islander Flag” a permission to Wikipedia to reproduce the flag (at thumbnail size, or so) in any article. I leave the wording to you, no doubt—and I so suggest—acting upon your own legal advice. However, for example:


 * “We the Torres Strait Island Regional Authority are the sole owner of copyright under the Copyright Act 1958 (Cth) in the Torres Strait Islander Flag, created by Bernard Namok and defined in the Commonwealth of Australia Gazette, Special, No. S 258, 14 July 1995.


 * We hereby grant to Wikipedia permission to reproduce the said flag for non-commercial purposes in any Wikipedia article—without alteration or overlay, at a size not exceeding half of a page horizontally, with acknowledgement of Bernard Namok as its creator and with acknowledgement of ourselves as the current owner of the copyright.


 * This permission is given without fee and indefinitely, but may be withdrawn at any time after a period of ten years from the date of publication of this message in Wikipedia.”

2.	Since this request does not come from Wikipedia as a corporation, such action will not constitute a contract between yourselves and Wikipedia. Its legal status will only be to absolve Wikipedia from copyright infringement.

Wikipedia article links:

•	“Torres Strait Islander Flag”: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Torres_Strait_Islander_Flag (contains links to the Flags Act, to the Proclamation of this flag and to Australian government notification regarding it)

•	“Torres Strait Islanders”: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Torres_Strait_Islanders (and see Talk/Flag)

•	“Indigenous Australians”: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Indigenous_Australians


 * Yours with warmest regards
 * {signed by the lawyer - pro bono!}


 * No comments having been received from users, the message has been sent to the Torres Strait Regional Authority (name corrected). I will inform here of any developments.  Wikiain (talk) 00:22, 26 May 2017 (UTC)

Wikiain (talk) 02:07, 22 May 2017 (UTC)
 * The message was sent. No response has been received.  Wikiain (talk) 22:44, 12 July 2018 (UTC)
 * - Well, there's a a coincidink. Have you seen Files for discussion/2018 July 12 and/or c:Commons:Deletion requests/File:Torres Strait Islander.png? -- Aussie Legend  ( ✉ ) 23:00, 12 July 2018 (UTC)

Image fair use rationale
"|image has rationale=yes" has been added. Wikiain (talk) 22:49, 18 June 2018 (UTC)

Move discussion in progress
There is a move discussion in progress on Talk:Australian Aboriginal Flag which affects this page. Please participate on that page and not in this talk page section. Thank you. —RMCD bot 00:17, 14 February 2024 (UTC)