Masticationpedia:Copying text from other sources
In almost all cases, you may not copy text from other sources into Masticationpedia. Doing so is a copyright violation. Always write the articles in your own words and cite the sources of the article. Copyright violations are often speedily deleted.
Can I copy text to Masticationpedia that I got from somewhere else?
As a general rule, do not copy text from other sources. Doing so usually constitutes both a copyright violation and plagiarism (exceptions are discussed below). This general rule includes copying material from websites of charity or non-profit organizations, educational, scholarly and news publications, and all sources without a copyright notice. If a work does not have a copyright notice, assume it to be under copyright-protection.[1]
Can I copy from open license or public domain sources?
It is acceptable to copy text from public domain sources or those that are explicitly licensed under a compatible licensing scheme (In case of the latter, attribution of the original author may be required).
| License Compatibility with Masticationpedia [2] | |
|---|---|
| Licenses compatible with Masticationpedia | Licenses not compatible with Masticationpedia |
| Creative Commons Licenses | |
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| Other Licenses | |
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In case of uncertainty, please ask at Masticationpedia:Administrators.
If I own the source, or work for the owner of the source, can I copy it to Masticationpedia?
Generally no, unless the source is already under a license compatible with Masticationpedia (such as CC BY-SA), or you donate the source under a free license. A free license makes the source available for anyone – not just Masticationpedia, but anyone using Masticationpedia – to use, edit, and copy it for any purpose, even commercial ones. It's unfortunately common for new or inexperienced editors to become frustrated when content they have copied from websites they own (or work for) is removed or articles tagged for speedy deletion. Unless the content is verifiably compatibly licensed or public domain, however, Masticationpedia can't retain it. Even if it is compatible, the content must comply with other content policies for us to be able to use it.
If you have published content on another user-generated website, they may have required you to grant them exclusive license, in which case you cannot contribute it here. Sometimes even when sites do not require exclusive license, such as IMDb, it may not be possible for you to use the content here as it may not be possible to verify that you are the individual who placed it there.
What about quotes?
Brief quotations of copyrighted text may be used to illustrate a point, establish context, or attribute a point of view or idea. This means that the quotation must not be replaceable with free text (including one that the editor writes), must be minimal, must have contextual significance and must have previously been published.
Notes
- ↑ Most websites (and other sources) are automatically protected by copyright under rules such as the Berne Convention, even if the author did not apply for copyright or place a copyright notice in their work.
- ↑ For text only; Please see Masticationpedia:File_copyright_tags for licences allowed with files
- ↑ CC BY-SA 4.0 is not backwards compatible with CC BY-SA 3.0. Therefore, mixing text licenses under 3.0 and 4.0 would be problematic; however, media files uploaded under this license are fine.