Wikipedia:Contributor copyright investigations

Requests
Please add all requests at the bottom of the list below, following the format given at How should a case be filed? above. A copyright clerk or administrator will review your request, according to the instructions, then either open the case or decline it.



0mtwb9gd5wx

 * Check requested by — SamX &#91;talk · contribs&#93;
 * Four prior warnings for copyright violations on talk page. I've found some copyright violations in their recent contributions:
 * close paraphrasing from this source added to M&M's with this edit
 * Close paraphrasing from this source added to NBC Orange Network with this edit
 * Verbatim copying close paraphrasing from this source added to The Plain Dealer with this edit edited 18:38, 12 November 2023 (UTC)
 * Close paraphrasing from this source added to Manny Farber with this edit
 * This editor's misuse of quotes is also a concern. Excessive quoting using the  parameter in CS1 templates seems to be common (as seen here, here, here, here, and here), as well as very long verbatim quotes from sources (as seen here, here, here) and at least one case of very large verbatim copying into a hidden text comment (here). — SamX &#91;talk · contribs&#93; 05:52, 11 November 2023 (UTC)
 * quotes & paraphrasing are allowed ? .... 17:44, 12 November 2023 (UTC) 0mtwb9gd5wx (talk) 17:44, 12 November 2023 (UTC)
 * Thanks for following up. They are sometimes, but not always. Very limited quotes of non-free works are allowed per WP:NFCC, but quotations that are very large, could be replaced with handwritten prose, or that comprise a significant or critical portion of copyrighted works are not. Do not include the full text of lengthy primary sources and WP:COPYQUOTE explain this in more detail. Paraphrasing can also be problematic. It's usually alright if it's very limited in scope, but using similar wording with a few tweaks or presenting a series of ideas in the exact same order of a source is generally not acceptable. I'd highly recommend reading Plagiarism and especially Close paraphrasing for a more detailed explanation. — SamX &#91;talk · contribs&#93; 18:12, 12 November 2023 (UTC)
 * I don't remember the details of the context, most likely I found citations that answered questions about the subject, but I didn't understand it well enough to paraphrase it. Why don't you paraphrase them ? ... 0mtwb9gd5wx (talk) 18:29, 12 November 2023 (UTC)
 * Paraphrasing large passages or adding a passage with minimal changes from the source usually means using the same creative expression, which is legally protected. These criteria are more strict than a lot of people realize. For example, the passage you added to The Plain Dealer would probably be better written as WHK (AM) and WJAY were purchased by United Broadcasting Company in 1934 and 1936, respectively. United Broadcasting company was owned by the Forest City Publishing Company, which in turn owned The Plain Dealer. This passage states the facts in a different order and uses different language, thereby using different creative expression than the source. Close paraphrasing explains this in more detail. This particular instance is admittedly smaller than the other diffs I've cited and might even meet WP:LIMITED, which is why I used it to illustrate an example of acceptable paraphrasing. — SamX &#91;talk · contribs&#93; 18:53, 12 November 2023 (UTC)
 * Paraphrasing large passages or adding a passage with minimal changes from the source usually means using the same creative expression, which is legally protected. These criteria are more strict than a lot of people realize. For example, the passage you added to The Plain Dealer would probably be better written as WHK (AM) and WJAY were purchased by United Broadcasting Company in 1934 and 1936, respectively. United Broadcasting company was owned by the Forest City Publishing Company, which in turn owned The Plain Dealer. This passage states the facts in a different order and uses different language, thereby using different creative expression than the source. Close paraphrasing explains this in more detail. This particular instance is admittedly smaller than the other diffs I've cited and might even meet WP:LIMITED, which is why I used it to illustrate an example of acceptable paraphrasing. — SamX &#91;talk · contribs&#93; 18:53, 12 November 2023 (UTC)



Nowhereman86
These diffs are older but unfortunately these weren't caught at the time, and it's now going to be potentially very challenging to resolve. The user has been much less active recently but issues appear to persist, eg this edit is unattributed copy-paste from Certified registered nurse anesthetist. Nikkimaria (talk) 00:52, 30 April 2024 (UTC)
 * Check requested by Nikkimaria (talk)
 * This user has a history of having image uploads deleted due to copyright concerns and received a copyvio warning in 2018.
 * This diff includes material copied from here
 * This diff includes material copied from here
 * This diff copies material from here, here, here, and here
 * this diff copies from here
 * this diff copies from here
 * this diff copies from here


 * Found another diff: this diff, copies from here. Copyvio report⸺RandomStaplers 05:16, 17 July 2024 (UTC)



SecondLooneyaccount

 * Check requested by BluePenguin18 🐧  ( 💬 )
 * In July 2021, DanCherek warned this user about the addition of copyrighted content to Draft:The Fairly OddParents (2022 TV series), though the draft has been deleted and Dan's message did not specify what the violation entailed. In January 2022, Onel5969 nominated List of Nailed It! episodes for speedy deletion under criterion G12 for copying episode descriptions from Netflix. This user accepted that the descriptions were copied, agreeing to remove them to avoid speedy deletion. In July 2023, Belbury reverted this user's attempt to change the infobox image at High School Musical: The Musical: The Series season 4 to an unlicensed image, which has since been deleted. While New Page Patrolling today, I found that the lead sections of Step Class (Abbott Elementary) and Open House (Abbott Elementary) were both copied by this user in late April 2024 from the official episode descriptions found on Hulu and Rotten Tomatoes and am writing unique replacements. This user has also been warned against copying text from other Wikipedia pages without edit summary attribution in November 2021 and February 2022, and uploaded File:Schitts Creek S1poster.jpg, File:Schitts Creek S2poster.jpg, File:Schitts Creek S3poster.jpg, and File:Schitts Creek S6poster.jpg without a non-free media use rationale (ultimately provided by Salavat). I am raising this case because the documented instances of copyright infringement have occurred over a multi-year span and the user is still active. BluePenguin18 🐧  ( 💬 ) 17:42, 6 May 2024 (UTC)
 * In July 2021, DanCherek warned this user about the addition of copyrighted content to Draft:The Fairly OddParents (2022 TV series), though the draft has been deleted and Dan's message did not specify what the violation entailed. In January 2022, Onel5969 nominated List of Nailed It! episodes for speedy deletion under criterion G12 for copying episode descriptions from Netflix. This user accepted that the descriptions were copied, agreeing to remove them to avoid speedy deletion. In July 2023, Belbury reverted this user's attempt to change the infobox image at High School Musical: The Musical: The Series season 4 to an unlicensed image, which has since been deleted. While New Page Patrolling today, I found that the lead sections of Step Class (Abbott Elementary) and Open House (Abbott Elementary) were both copied by this user in late April 2024 from the official episode descriptions found on Hulu and Rotten Tomatoes and am writing unique replacements. This user has also been warned against copying text from other Wikipedia pages without edit summary attribution in November 2021 and February 2022, and uploaded File:Schitts Creek S1poster.jpg, File:Schitts Creek S2poster.jpg, File:Schitts Creek S3poster.jpg, and File:Schitts Creek S6poster.jpg without a non-free media use rationale (ultimately provided by Salavat). I am raising this case because the documented instances of copyright infringement have occurred over a multi-year span and the user is still active. BluePenguin18 🐧  ( 💬 ) 17:42, 6 May 2024 (UTC)



DrPlantGenomics

 * Check requested by Broc (talk)
 * I'm not doing this light-heartedly, as DrPlantGenomics has been a very prolific contributor of Women in STEM biographies (which we really need on Wikipedia!) and the articles are generally of good quality. However, I recently stumbled upon several copyright violations in their latest articles, for which I have already requested WP:REVDEL:
 * Ailie Gallant, created, 4 April 2024
 * Jane MacMaster, created 10 May 2024
 * Ros Gleadow, created 24 May 2024
 * Karen Livesey, created 25 May 2024
 * Tara Pukala, created 25 May 2024
 * Tiahni Adamson, created 25 May 2024
 * Most violations were very close paraphrasing of online sources. The user received a copyvio warning in 2019 and 2021. As they have created 83 articles and there is a chance many of them might be affected by similar copyright issues, I am requesting to open this investigation. Broc (talk) 13:05, 25 May 2024 (UTC)
 * Most violations were very close paraphrasing of online sources. The user received a copyvio warning in 2019 and 2021. As they have created 83 articles and there is a chance many of them might be affected by similar copyright issues, I am requesting to open this investigation. Broc (talk) 13:05, 25 May 2024 (UTC)



GrahamBould

 * Check requested by Renerpho (talk)
 * This may be a bit of an unusual case, for two reasons. Firstly, there already has been an investigation about this user, resulting in a block for "massive copyright violations", and the implementation of a WikiProject to deal with the damage. The second may be the age of the problem: The possible copyright violations date from March 2006 to March 2009. I originally noticed copyright problems with one specific edit (from 3 July 2006) to one article (Jack Churchill), which I detailed on the article talk page yesterday (see here). The resulting RD1 for that article has now resulted in the deletion of 1251 revisions, spanning 18 years. It was only today that I looked into the editor's past, and found out about their prior history of copyvios. To my surprise, I learned that the Jack Churchill article was identified as problematic in April 2009, but was never dealt with. The problem, and the reason why I came here, is that some of the other articles identified in 2009 don't seem to have ever been looked at either. This old list gives an overview over the potentially problematic articles that had been identified as of June 2009, but had not yet been attended to when work on GrahamBould's edits stopped. Jack Churchill is number 17 of 103 on that list. I am pinging, who has dealt with the RD1 on Jack Churchill, and who suggested bringing this to WP:CCI. Renerpho (talk) 18:42, 28 May 2024 (UTC)
 * Oops, I just noticed that the old list had more than one page. This list is getting much longer! Page 2 (143 articles), page 3 (500 articles), page 4 (977 articles). Renerpho (talk) 19:16, 28 May 2024 (UTC)
 * The last time this user was discussed at WP:AN was in March 2009: I think people just gave up on the task back then, as checking the many thousands of articles created and expanded by this user (many of which had copyright issues, but some didn't) was just too much. Maybe we can get back to it now? Renerpho (talk) 19:27, 28 May 2024 (UTC)
 * legal@wikimedia.org has been made aware, as suggested today at WP:AN. Renerpho (talk) 06:31, 30 May 2024 (UTC)
 * legal@wikimedia.org has been made aware, as suggested today at WP:AN. Renerpho (talk) 06:31, 30 May 2024 (UTC)



Ramblersen2

 * Check requested by Fram (talk)
 * The autopatrolled editor has more than 100,000 edits across their accounts (User:Ramblersen was the first). They have received some copyvio warnings over the years, the most recent one in January 2022 from user:Diannaa. Their copyright violations seem to have remained undetected because they were translations, which don't get picked up by our tools. I removed a partial copyvio from their most recent contribution Arnold Eugen Reimann (landowner), and upon further checking found (next to instances of close paraphrasing) blatant copyvios in other very recent contributions like The Iron Foundry, Burmeister & Wain and Kronborg Tapestries, which I nominated for speedy deletion. But as copyright violations also seemed to appear further down his list of contributions (e.g. in Simon Aron Eibeschütz, the "Personal life and legacy" section, is in parts identical to the text of the source) a CCI seemed the way to go. I also would suggest that their Autopatrolled right should be revoked, because of the copyvios and because of very sloppy writing (highlighted in my comments on their talk page as well). Fram (talk) 09:53, 31 May 2024 (UTC) Fram (talk) 09:53, 31 May 2024 (UTC)
 * I checked further, and the copyvios seem to be going back a long time, judging from Johan Daniel Herholdt (physician) from December 2023 which has a long literal copy of the Google translated version of the source. Fram (talk) 11:44, 31 May 2024 (UTC)
 * I checked further, and the copyvios seem to be going back a long time, judging from Johan Daniel Herholdt (physician) from December 2023 which has a long literal copy of the Google translated version of the source. Fram (talk) 11:44, 31 May 2024 (UTC)



Mladifilozof
Hardly an urgent request, given that the contributor hasn't edited since Oct. 2023, and they did seem to get better after being warned. GreenLipstickLesbian (talk) 03:37, 1 June 2024 (UTC)
 * Check requested by GreenLipstickLesbian (talk)
 * 3 notifications in 2023 from Diannaa about copyright violations, and Hilst nominated Cobrinha Verde for a G12 deletion earlier this year. (I have no idea when the article was created). I found these two edits  from 2010 that both blatantly copy-pasted material from . Also found [], that closely paraphrased the cited book.
 * 3 notifications in 2023 from Diannaa about copyright violations, and Hilst nominated Cobrinha Verde for a G12 deletion earlier this year. (I have no idea when the article was created). I found these two edits  from 2010 that both blatantly copy-pasted material from . Also found [], that closely paraphrased the cited book.



Kippelboy

 * Check requested by GreenLipstickLesbian (talk)
 * Multiple copyright warnings and G12 notifications on their talkpage, going back to 2012. Upon looking, I've also found multiple unattributed translations.
 * More evidence:
 * Unattributed caWiki translation
 * Lluís Farré likely from ( 2024-06-02 EDIT: User claimed it was an unattributed caWiki translation, despite containing an entirely different set of facts and structure as the original page )
 * Nazanin Armanian unattributed translation es:Nazanín Armanian ca:Nazanín Armanian GreenLipstickLesbian (talk) 23:28, 1 June 2024 (UTC)
 * from
 * Alba Sidera- unattributed caWiki translation
 * takes from
 * GreenLipstickLesbian (talk) 07:30, 3 June 2024 (UTC)
 * GreenLipstickLesbian (talk) 07:30, 3 June 2024 (UTC)



Vaoverland

 * Check requested by Mackensen (talk)
 * Vaoverland was a prolific user in the early days of Wikipedia. He passed away in 2011. Investigation has identified five articles created in 2004 which were substantially copyright violations from the moment of creation:
 * Vaoverland was a prolific user in the early days of Wikipedia. He passed away in 2011. Investigation has identified five articles created in 2004 which were substantially copyright violations from the moment of creation:


 * Chesapeake and Ohio Railway: copied from this page from the Chesapeake and Ohio Historical Society
 * Florida East Coast Railway: copied from this page from the Flagler Museum.
 * Southern Railway (U.S.): copied from this page from the Southern Railway Historical Association.


 * has identified two others (Sewell's Point and Battle of Hampton Roads) and I'll let them supply the details. Mackensen (talk) 00:59, 19 June 2024 (UTC)
 * As mentioned, Sewell's Point has a large section copied from this page (Vaoverland's initial version, which is still visible in the page history, was copied from other sites as well, but most has been gradually removed from the article over time), and Battle of Hampton Roads is largely copied from this site. These are just two that I found in some quick searching; unfortunately the user was quite prolific around this time, so I'm worried there's much more. DrOrinScrivello (talk) 13:51, 20 June 2024 (UTC)
 * Upon further inspection, it looks like Battle of Hampton Roads is a false positive; that page copied from us. Also, I did some more looking at Vaoverland's contributions after those mentioned above, and I'm less sure that there's a persistent issue. I'll let someone more experienced in these matters than me decide, however. DrOrinScrivello (talk) 16:28, 20 June 2024 (UTC)



Deisenbe

 * Check requested by MER-C
 * Editor has received multiple copyright warnings on their talk page, some handwritten (e.g., note some other instances have had permission cleared). After investigating another matter, I came across , which was copied from https://eu.tallahassee.com/story/news/2014/02/05/neamathla-led-tribe-near-lake-lafayette/5218971/. I am concerned that there is more lurking in their 76000+ edits. MER-C 18:23, 30 June 2024 (UTC)
 * I haave 76,000 edits. There have been a few mistakes. This measure is intended for "large-scale systematic copyright violations only". My violations are neither large-scale nor systematic. deisenbe (talk) 14:56, 2 July 2024 (UTC)
 * I haave 76,000 edits. There have been a few mistakes. This measure is intended for "large-scale systematic copyright violations only". My violations are neither large-scale nor systematic. deisenbe (talk) 14:56, 2 July 2024 (UTC)

Norris.michaelj

 * Check requested by Nikkimaria (talk)
 * *A series of edits at 1902 Florida State College football team were revdeleted for copyvio reasons, and subsequent edits closely paraphrase this source
 * This diff also closely paraphrases from here
 * This diff includes material copied from here (and also the other source given although that appears to be PD due to age)
 * This diff copies from here
 * This diff copies from here Nikkimaria (talk) 03:29, 1 July 2024 (UTC)
 * This diff copies from here Nikkimaria (talk) 03:29, 1 July 2024 (UTC)

Colman2000

 * Check requested by Fram (talk)
 * They received copyvio warnings from Diannaa in March 2023 and June 2023, and a close paraphrase warning from me in January 2024. Their contributions still follow the same pattern though, taking the text from the Texas State Historical Association website (a copyrighted source) and closely following their entries, but somewhat changing the word order or using synonyms. Direct copyright violations seem to be absent since the second warning, but the close paraphrasing is quite obvious in details and when looking at the whole history section vs. the website. Recent examples:
 * Startzville, Texas is their most recent creation. It follows the source quite closely, which is obvious in e.g. "A large portion of the land near the lake was developed as residential subdivisions, even though the population of Startzville proper was only estimated to be 30 in 1966." vs. "Although the population of Startzville proper was estimated at only thirty in 1966, much of the land near the lake was developed as residential subdivisions." The next sentences can all easily be mapped 1-on-1 to the source. The length of Hunter, Texas helps to show the problem. Again, we can nearly completely map the history section to the source, most obviously in e.g. "When the International-Great Northern Railroad arrived in the townsite in 1880, it was officially named and established. There, in Gustavus A. Schleyer's general store, a post office opened in 1883, and Schleyer served as postmaster." vs. "The townsite was established and named with the arrival of the International and Great Northern Railroad in 1880. In 1883 a post office opened there in Gustavus A. Schleyer's general store, with the owner as postmaster." or "Hunter recorded 200 residents and nearly the same mix of companies in 1896; by that time, a resident physician had also been added." vs. "In 1896 Hunter still reported 200 residents and roughly the same mix of businesses; by then there was also a resident doctor."
 * This is not only about new creations but also expansions of existing articles, like here, from here. Completele same structure, and in parts more obviously just copied and adapted, like "Prospective inhabitants came to the new community, lured by the railroad, available jobs, and land that sold for $5 to $57 per acre." vs. "Prospective residents, drawn by the railroad, available jobs, and land that sold for five to fifty-seven dollars an acre, flocked to the new community." Fram (talk) 09:32, 1 July 2024 (UTC) Fram (talk) 09:32, 1 July 2024 (UTC)
 * This is not only about new creations but also expansions of existing articles, like here, from here. Completele same structure, and in parts more obviously just copied and adapted, like "Prospective inhabitants came to the new community, lured by the railroad, available jobs, and land that sold for $5 to $57 per acre." vs. "Prospective residents, drawn by the railroad, available jobs, and land that sold for five to fifty-seven dollars an acre, flocked to the new community." Fram (talk) 09:32, 1 July 2024 (UTC) Fram (talk) 09:32, 1 July 2024 (UTC)



Selfstudier
Violations that I have found today, after spot checking ten of their recent contributions:
 * Check requested by GreenLipstickLesbian (talk)
 * User has been warned several times by multiple users for copyright violations and copying from compatibly licensed sources/CWW without attribution. To their credit, they have gotten a lot better at attribution with respect to CWW issues.
 * User has been warned several times by multiple users for copyright violations and copying from compatibly licensed sources/CWW without attribution. To their credit, they have gotten a lot better at attribution with respect to CWW issues.
 * contains text copied from
 * contains text copied from
 * contains text copied from
 * contains text copied from, but you can just look at the quote they included in the ref.
 * contains text copied from GreenLipstickLesbian (talk) 09:48, 11 July 2024 (UTC)
 * I fixed 3 of those vios above, the other 2 are not in the articles anymore afaics.
 * Re the warnings, 4 of them are between 2018 and 2020, the fifth was mistaken, the material was in quotes with inline attribution and the person giving the warning reverted it, which I then restored and subsequently instead the editor changed his complaint to one of the quote being too long, which I don't think it was. Just the usual back and forth editing for an ongoing current event.
 * That leaves the recent June warning, which I confess was a screwup on my part. If you look back in 2023, I was editing this article frequently from the same source (periodic UN OCHA updates) with no problems and then the Gaza war intervened so I stopped doing that. Then in June, OCHA resumed reporting as it had done previously but with some format and other changes so I thought to resume editing as previously. What I was intending to do was to copy the relevant material out to the article and then use it like a sandbox (I know, bad...) to get the new information into the same way I was doing it in 2023. My mistake, won't happen again. Selfstudier (talk) 17:30, 12 July 2024 (UTC)