File talk:Illustrated London News - Christmas Truce 1914.jpg

Public domain

Why is this picture not in the public domain? - Owain Knight (talk) 13:24, 24 December 2015 (UTC)

@Owain Knight: For its British copyright, it's 70 years after the death of the artist. We don't know when the artist died, so cannot say for certain it's out of copyright in Britain. It likely is, but Commons requires proof. It is, however, out of copyright in the United States. Adam Cuerden ^(talk) 14:41, 24 December 2015 (UTC)

So on what basis would Wikimedia be hypothetically sued if the author is unknown? - Owain Knight (talk) 15:17, 24 December 2015 (UTC)

@Owain Knight: The artist is A.C. Michael. The author is known, it's the date of death that isn't. Also, realise Wikimedia, as an American company, cannot be sued for this; it's from before 1923, a hard cutoff date for American copyright law. However, Wikimedia Commons requires it to be out of copyright both in America and its home country, in order to create an archive of material safe for anyone to use worldwide, so the tag notes it can't be moved there. Adam Cuerden ^(talk) 15:43, 24 December 2015 (UTC)