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This page explains RetroTechCollection’s policies on copyright and licensing for content—text, images, diagrams, schematics, software listings, and other media—hosted on the site.
This policy covers copyright and licensing on RetroTechCollection: the text contributors write, the photographs and drawings they make, and material by other people that is uploaded or quoted here, such as manuals, schematics and photographs.


=== Purpose ===
== Your own work ==
This policy ensures that material on RetroTechCollection respects the rights of original creators, avoids infringement, and clearly communicates the licensing terms under which content is made available.
Text you write on the wiki, and photographs, drawings and diagrams you make yourself, are released under the licences set out in section 4.1 of the [[RetroTechCollection:Terms of Use|Terms of Use]]: the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International licence (CC BY-SA 4.0) and the GNU Free Documentation License (GFDL) 1.3 or later. Anyone may reuse it on those terms.


== 1. Scope ==
When you upload your own photograph or drawing, say on the file page that it is your own work and give the licence.
This policy applies to all content contributed by users or imported from external sources, including:
* Photographs of hardware, screenshots, scans, and diagrams 
* Excerpts from technical manuals, service guides, or datasheets 
* Software listings, ROM code snippets, and BASIC programs 
* Logos, trademarks, and branding assets 


== 2. Public Domain and Free Licenses ==
== Material by other people ==
=== 2.1 Public Domain ===
Copyrighted material may be used and uploaded on RetroTechCollection, including complete service manuals, schematics, datasheets, photographs and excerpts, as long as it is cited. Citing it means stating:
Material in the public domain may be freely reproduced. Acceptable sources include:
* the source: where the copy came from, such as a URL and the date it was retrieved, a publication, or who scanned or photographed it
* Expired copyrights (typically 70 years after author’s death, varies by jurisdiction) 
* the author or publisher
* US Government works not subject to copyright 
* the copyright holder, or "copyright holder unknown" where it cannot be established
* Works explicitly dedicated to the public domain (e.g., CC0) 


When using public domain content, state:
Give these on the file page of every upload, and in the article wherever the material is used, as a reference. See [[RetroTechCollection:Citing sources]].
<pre>
''This image/manual/page is in the public domain.'' 
Source: [URL or reference]
</pre>


=== 2.2 Free and Open Licenses ===
Material by other people stays under its owner's copyright. It is not covered by the licences for contributors' own work, and RetroTechCollection claims no rights in it.
Content under a compatible free license may be used, provided attribution and license terms are honored. Accepted licenses include:
* Creative Commons Attribution (CC BY) 
* Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike (CC BY-SA) 
* GNU Free Documentation License (GFDL) 
* MIT, BSD, or similarly permissive text licenses 


Include a clear license statement on the page or file description:
Public domain and freely licensed material (Creative Commons, GFDL, MIT, BSD and similar) is cited in the same way, and its file page gives the licence. Follow the licence's own attribution terms.


=== File pages ===
Every file page says what the file is, where it came from, who made it, and its licence or copyright holder:
<pre>
<pre>
''Licensed under {{cc-by-sa|4.0}}.''' 
== Summary ==
Source: [URL or reference] 
Apple Computer, Macintosh Plus Service Source, 1995 edition.
</pre>


== 3. Fair Use and Non-Free Content ==
== Source ==
RetroTechCollection discourages non-free content unless strictly necessary. Permissible only if:
Scanned by the uploader from a printed copy.
# No free alternative exists. 
# The use is minimal and illustrative (e.g., one diagram from a manual). 
# The use adds significant new context or commentary (transformative). 
# You provide:
;Description of the work 
;Purpose of use (e.g., critical analysis, documentation) 
;Amount used (e.g., one figure) 
;Justification of fair use under U.S. law or local equivalents 


Use the {{non-free}} template on pages containing fair-use content:
== Author ==
Apple Computer, Inc.


<pre>
== Licence ==
{{non-free
Copyright Apple Computer, Inc.
| source = '''Electroluminescent display schematic''', ''Commodore SX-64 Service Manual'', 1984
| rationale = '''Illustration of EL backlight circuit; no free equivalent available.'''
| resolution = 600×400px
}}
</pre>
</pre>


== 4. Uploading and Attribution ==
For your own photograph:
=== 4.1 Local vs. Commons ===
* '''Local upload'''—Use when fair use or non-free restrictions apply. Files remain on RetroTechCollection servers. 
* '''Commons upload'''—Preferred for PD or freely licensed content. Increases discoverability and reuse.
 
=== 4.2 Required Information ===
When uploading any media, include:
* Title and description of the work 
* Author/creator name 
* Source URL or publication reference (manual name, date, page) 
* Licensing information (public domain, CC BY-SA, fair use rationale) 
 
Example file description:
<pre>
<pre>
== Summary ==
== Summary ==
Photo of Commodore 64C motherboard (ASSY 250469).
Commodore 64C motherboard (ASSY 250469).


== Source ==
== Source ==
Own photograph, May 2025.
Own photograph, May 2025.


== Licensing ==
== Author ==
{{cc-by|4.0}} 
[[User:YourUsername]]
 
== Licence ==
[https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/ CC BY-SA 4.0]
</pre>
</pre>


== 5. Text Content and Excerpts ==
[[Help:Uploading service manuals]] covers the page each hosted manual also gets.
RetroTechCollection’s text content should be:
 
* Original writing or paraphrased summaries of sources.
=== Quoting text ===
* Limited quotations (≤ 10% of freely available text) with clear blockquote markup and source attribution.
Article text is normally written in your own words. When you copy text from a source, such as a procedure or a table from a manual, mark it as a quotation or say that it is reproduced from the source, and cite it.


For longer technical excerpts (e.g., code listings, register tables), prefer linking to an external public-domain or freely licensed PDF, or host on Commons under appropriate license.
=== Diagrams you redraw or annotate ===
Credit the original (source, author or publisher, copyright holder) and say which parts are your additions.


== 6. Trademarks and Logos ==
=== Trademarks and logos ===
Registered trademarks (e.g., “Commodore,” “Atari,” “Sega”) remain the property of their owners. Permissible uses:
Trademarks such as "Commodore", "Atari" and "Sega" belong to their owners. Use them to identify the subject of a page. Logos may be used to identify a manufacturer or product in infoboxes and on category pages, cited like any other image.
* Identifying the subject of the page (nominative fair use).
* Using low-resolution logos for identification in infoboxes or galleries.


Always include:
=== Wikimedia Commons ===
<pre>
Files on Wikimedia Commons can be used on this wiki directly by name, without uploading them again. Commons accepts only freely licensed files, so upload copyrighted manuals and photographs here instead.
''“XYZ” is a registered trademark of XYZ Corporation. Used here under nominative fair use for identification purposes only.'' 
 
</pre>
=== Software ===
The upload form accepts documents, images, audio and video. It does not accept ROM images, disk images or program files.
 
== Removal requests ==
If you hold the copyright in material on RetroTechCollection and want it removed, or its credit corrected:
# Email [mailto:[email protected] [email protected]] or open a ticket on the [https://forum.retrotechcollection.com/tickets/ RTC Forum].
# Give the page or file name, identify the work and your right in it, and give your contact details.


== 7. Derivative Works ==
The material will be removed, or the credit corrected if that is what you ask for. [[RetroTechCollection:Copyright violations]] gives the full procedure and timings.
When creating diagrams, schematics, or annotated images:
* Base your work on public-domain or freely licensed originals, or 
* Substantially transform copyrighted material (e.g., redrawn, colorized, annotated). 
* Credit the original source and clearly distinguish your additions.


== 8. Takedown and Enforcement ==
== Further reading ==
If you believe content on RetroTechCollection infringes copyright:
* [https://creativecommons.org/licenses/ Creative Commons licences overview]
# Contact [mailto:copyright@retrotechcollection.org Support] with details: 
* [https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/Commons:Licensing Wikimedia Commons licensing]
:* Page/file name 
:* Link to original work 
:* Evidence of infringement 
# RetroTechCollection will review and, if necessary, remove or replace the content promptly.


== 9. Further Reading and Resources ==
== See also ==
* [https://creativecommons.org/licenses/ CC licenses overview]
* [[RetroTechCollection:Copyright violations]]
* [https://www.copyright.gov/fair-use/fair-use-faq.html U.S. Copyright Office—Fair Use FAQ]
* [[RetroTechCollection:Service manual reproduction]]
* [https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/Commons:Licensing Wikimedia Commons licensing]
* [[RetroTechCollection:Terms of Use]]


<references/>
[[Category:RetroTechCollection policies]]
[[Category:Copyright and legal issues]]
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