Editing Encyclopedia:Image use policy (section)

=====Photographs=====
Such images can include photographs which you yourself took. The legal rights for images generally lie with the <em>photographer</em>, not the <em>subject</em>. Simply re-tracing a copyrighted image or [[diagram]] does <em>not</em> necessarily create a new copyright—copyright is generated only by instances of "creativity", and not by the amount of labor which went into the creation of the work.  

Photographs of two-dimensional objects such as paintings in a museum often do not create a new copyright (see the section on the [[#Public domain|public domain]] below), as, within the United States, these are considered "slavish copies" without any creativity (see ''[[Bridgeman Art Library v. Corel Corp.]]'').

Photographs of three-dimensional objects almost always generate a new copyright, though others may continue to hold copyright in items depicted in such photographs. Whether the photo carries the copyright of the object photographed depends on numerous factors. For three-dimensional art and architecture such as buildings in public spaces, each country has unique [[freedom of panorama]] allowances that consider if such photographs are treated as [[derivative work]]s of the object and thus copyrighted; [[c:Commons:Freedom of panorama|Commons:Freedom of panorama]] outlines these clauses per jurisdiction. The shape and design of utilitarian objects, such as cars, furniture, and tools, are generally considered uncopyrightable, allowing such photos to be put into the public domain or freely licensed; however this does not extend to decorative features such as artistic elements on the object's surfaces like an artistic painting on a car's hood. If you have questions in respect to this, please ask the regulars at [[Wikipedia talk:Copyrights]].

Images with you, friends or family prominently featured in a way that distracts from the image topic are not recommended for the main namespace. These images are considered self-promotion and the Wikipedia community has repeatedly reached consensus to delete such images. Using such images on user pages is allowed.

Some images may contain [[trademark]]ed logos incidentally (or purposely if the image is either freely licensed, covered under freedom of panorama, or being too simple to be copyrightable). If this is the case, please tag it with {{tl|trademark}}. Copyrighted elements may also be present in ''[[de minimis]]'' in photographs, where the copyrighted element is visible but not the focus of the photograph. In such cases, ''de minimis'' copyrighted elements do not affect the copyright of the photograph; such a photo may still be licensed freely. For example, [[:File:New york times square-terabass.jpg|a photograph of Times Square]] can be considered free despite the numerous advertising signs in sight, as these ads are considered to be ''de minimis''.