User:Physchim62/German images

The German images listed on this page were submitted to Wikipedia in good faith under the copyright tag PD-Germany, of which a recent version is reproduced below:

There is an ongoing dispute as to whether this template accurately reflects German copyright law.

German copyright law for photographs
The references in this section are to the Urheberrechtgesetz (UrhG, See External links).

Photographic works (Lichtbildwerke) are protected by copyright for seventy years after the death of the "author" (UrhG § 64), or for seventy years after the date of first publication in the case of anonymous works or works of unknown authorship (UrhG § 66).

Photographs (Lichtbilder) have a sui generis protection for fifty years after the date of first publication, or for fifty years after their production in the case of unpublished photographs (UrhG § 72).

The criterium for a work qualifying for copyright protection (as opposed to sui generis protection) is given in UrhG § 2(2):
 * Werke im Sinne dieses Gesetzes sind nur persönliche geistige Schöpfungen.
 * Personal intellectual creations alone shall constitute works within the meaning of this Law. (WIPO translation)

Hence photographs taken automatically do not qualify for copyright protection as they are not "personal creations": they do, however, qualify for sui generis protection.

The sense of "intellectual" ("geistig") in the criterium should be construed widely, as in its general use in copyright Law. The corresponding term in the Berne Convention is "literary and artistic works", which includes "every production in the literary, scientific and artistic domain, whatever may be the mode or form of its expression". The Berne convention specifically includes "photographic works to which are assimilated works expressed by a process analogous to photography" within its protection. (Berne Convention citations taken from Article 2(1))

From German Wikipedia:
 * In der juristischen Praxis ist die "persönliche geistige Schöpfung", die das Gesetz fordert, immer wieder ein Streitpunkt in konkreten Fällen: Je nach Werkgattung werden dabei in Gerichtsentscheidungen unterschiedliche Maßstäbe an die sog. Schaffenshöhe angelegt, was in der Folge dazu führt, dass zwar die meisten, aber nicht prinzipiell alle Ergebnisse menschlichen Schaffens in der Praxis urheberrechtlich geschützt sind.
 * In legal practice the "personal intellectual creation", which the Law demands [for copyright protection], is frequently a point at issue in real cases. Depending upon the kind of work, different yardsticks have been used in judicial rulings. The severity of the test has generally decreased, leading to the consequence that most, although in principle not all, results of human work are, in practice, protected by copyright. (Wikipedia translation)

German govenment images
The protection of German government works is covered by UrhG § 5:
 * (1) Laws, ordinances, official decrees and notices as also decisions and official grounds of decisions shall not enjoy copyright protection.
 * (2) The same shall apply to other official works published in the official interest for public information, with the condition that the provisions of § 62(l)–(3) and § 63(1)&(2) concerning prohibited alterations and acknowledgment of sources shall apply mutatis mutandis. (WIPO translation)

As UhrG § 62(1), where it applies, prohibits alteration of a work, it is difficult (though not impossible) to include German government images in a GFDL document such as Wikipedia.

These provisions apply equally to images produced by the authorities of the Third Reich, as the Federal Republic of Germany is its legal successor. (Source: German Wikipedia)

Practice on German Wikipedia

 * German speakers should refer to the original page at de:Wikipedia:Bildrechte

German Wikipedia does not even mention the shorter sui generis protection of non-copyright photographs: it assumes that all images it uses fall under full, seventy-year copyright protection unless they are specifically licensed or public domain. It also warns users that the assertion of anonymity of the photographer is virtually impossible to prove.

The question of the use of official images under UrhG § 5(2) is controversial, with some German editors saying that the provision is incompatible with the GFDL while others assert that, in practice, there is not a problem.

Fair use
Images which are still under German copyright may qualify for fair use under U.S. copyright law.

GermanGov


FairuseWW2


''The copyright status of this photographic work from the World War 2 period is uncertain. The individual who uploaded this work and first used it in an article, and subsequent persons who place it into articles assert that this qualifies as fair use of the material under United States copyright law.

Unsourced World War II images - Unresolved
The uploaders, who are currently active, were contacted on 2005-06-19 and invited to reconsider the copyright tags for these images.
 * The images were tagged as PUIdisputed and listed on Possibly unfree images on 2005-08-05.


 * Image:Brecht.jpg has been removed from the corresponding German article as not PD.
 * Image:Ah berghof and Image:Interrogationofabritishpilot.jpg seems difficult to argue as fair use.

Unsourced World War II images - Resolved
All the uploaders who are currently active were contacted on 19 June 2005 and invited to reconsider the copyright tags for these images. Images with absent uploaders were tagged PUIdisputed and listed on WP:PUI.

Sourced images over 70 years old
These images are still tagged PD-Germany.

Unsourced images over 70 years old
These images are still tagged PD-Germany.

German government images
These images have been tagged GermanGov.


 * User:GeneralPatton provides the source for the Iron Cross images as "wartime propaganda postcards" on Image talk: EK 1class.png.

Images listed for deletion
This images have been listed (12 June 2005) on WP:IFD as orphans.

Other images
This image has been tagged PD-ineligible.

Other links to PD-Germany

 * User talk:Maury Markowitz
 * Images and media for deletion
 * User talk:Quadell
 * User:Quadell/copyright
 * User talk:Dbenbenn
 * Image talk:Surreydocks1941.jpg
 * Wikipedia talk:Image copyright tags/archive1
 * Wikipedia:Templates for deletion/Log/Not deleted/May 2005
 * Wikipedia:Templates for deletion/Log/Deleted/June 2005
 * Image talk:Wir stehen nicht allein.jpg