This page is about contributors who would like to get permission to use other people's work in MyPolokwane.com

To use copyrighted material on MyPolokwane.com, it is not enough that we have permission to use it on this site alone. That's because we state all material may be used by anyone, for any purpose (downstream use). So we have to be sure all material is in fact licensed for that purpose (downstream use), regardless of who provided it.

It is important to explain to potential contributors or providers of material that they would be agreeing that their material can be used freely by MyPolokwane AND its downstream users, and that such use might include commercial use, for which the contributor is not entitled to royalties or compensation.

This page explains what must be done, if you want to use content that's copyrighted, whether you know who produced it or not.

How to ask permission from a website or producer of material

Most websites give an e-mail address of the webmaster; if the author of the text or the photographer of an image is known, try to contact the author or photographer directly.  Send them an e-mail explaining the situation and asking for their permission. If authorship is unclear, ask them to confirm that the text or image is indeed theirs.

Text in Wikipedia articles must be licensed under the terms of the GNU Free Documentation License. (GFDL) When asking for permission, you should explain that this means that:

1. 1. The text or image may be freely redistributed and used.
2. 2. It may be freely modified, and modified versions may also be freely redistributed and used.
3. 3. Any redistribution must include the full text of the GFDL itself.
4. 4. In all cases, the GFDL requires proper attribution of the author(s).
5. 5. The GFDL allows commercial re-uses provided such re-use is also under the GFDL.

6. You also need to explain that the author does not give up any of his or her rights to use the text: he or she is still free to publish the text elsewhere or to license the same text to other parties under any other license.

It is advisable to attach to your enquiry email a standard declaration of consent (and point to it in the email), which can be returned by the author/copyright owner in the email reply. The precedent below should be amended, as necessary, with the required additional information:

"I hereby assert that I am the creator and/or sole owner of the exclusive copyright of WORK [ insert link ].

I agree to publish that work under the GFDL free license.

I acknowledge that I grant anyone the right to use the work in a commercial product and to modify it according to their needs, provided that they abide by the terms of the license and any other applicable laws.

I am aware that I always retain copyright of my work, and retain the right to be attributed in accordance with the license chosen. Modifications others make to the work will not be attributed to me.

I acknowledge that I cannot withdraw this agreement, and that the content may or may not be kept permanently on a Wikimedia project.

DATE, NAME OF THE COPYRIGHT HOLDER"

Once you have received a written/e-mail confirmation granting permission you may upload the material to MyPolokwane.com and include a note to the material to the effect that permission was granted. Keep the permission as it may be required in case of legal action.

This page was adapted for MyPolokwane.com from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:Requesting_copyright_permission