User:Chmod007/Swedish postage stamps

Use of Swedish postage stamps
I noticed that User:Sonett72 had uploaded a Swedish postage stamp as an illustration on the Saab 92 page. The image did not have any copyright information attached, so I started researching the rules for use of Swedish postage stamps.

As it turns out, the Swedish company Posten Frimärken, a subsidiary of Posten AB owns copyrights for all Swedish stamps. A page noted that all "commercial use" without permission was illegal, but did not say anything about wether non-commercial use was allowed.

Since I could not find any copyright information about stamps on the official Posten Frimärken web site, I decided to mail them and ask permission to use stamps under GFDL, or at least in the non-commercial Wikipedia. Our exchange of emails can be read here (in Swedish).

The response can be summarized like this:


 * Swedish postage stamps are protected by copyrights (Upphovsrättslagen, (SFS 1960:729))
 * No use allowed, unless explicitly permitted
 * As a rule, permissions granted are associated with a fee
 * Posten Frimärken does not grant Wikipedia permission to use the stamps, nor can they be licensed under GFDL
 * The copyrights held by Posten Frimärken are further complicated by the fact that stamps are usable as payment
 * Posten has seen an increase in the use of stamp images to forge stamps used to deceive them

So, in conclusion, we cannot use Swedish postage stamps in Wikipedia (though, for U.S. purposes I believe fair use may still apply...Do not quote me on that.). One reason quoted by Posten is that they may be used in forgery. I will mark all Swedish stamps (if copyright has not expired) as imagevio's.

If someone would like to contact Posten Frimärken, you may ask me for Stephan's email / telephone number.

David Remahl 05:59, 8 Jun 2004 (UTC)


 * I was not aware of the Swedish rules... I have several of these stamps, put one on my scanner and uploaded the result. What if I edit the scan, add my own creative efforts to it? You may also want to remove the same image from the Erik Carlsson article. MH 18:45, 2004 Jun 10 (UTC)


 * Unfortunately, editing the images constitutes creating a derivative work. It is also not permitted. In fact, the rules are even stricter for that. It's a pity...I'll remove the image from the Eric Carlsson page too. Thanks for your contributions! David Remahl 19:00, 10 Jun 2004 (UTC)


 * I have added all the fair use lingo to the pics and articles, I hope that will do... MH 15:59, 2004 Jun 11 (UTC)

BTW, the company is BSing people here - there are thousands of dealers putting up images of Swedish stamps every day, and I can guarantee you they're not all paying fees or getting prior permission. Also consider an envelope with a Swedish stamp on it - are they going to make everybody pay to put a scan of a postcard from Grandma up on the web? We're totally covered by fair use here. It is considered a friendly gesture to add a little slash through the denomination of a recent mint stamp, though not really essential because a real forger would buy a copy of the actual stamp, not use some crummy scan laying around on the net. Stan 07:12, 27 Dec 2004 (UTC)