View source for PokeMMO Community Wiki:Non-free content

{{Article status
|status=Policy
|note=This policy governs copyrighted media that is not available under a free license. It is an editorial risk-control policy, not legal advice and not a guarantee that a use is lawful.
|verified=2026-09-15
|scope=Non-free images, sprites, icons, screenshots, audio, and other copyrighted media uploaded to this wiki.
}}

== Purpose ==
The wiki prefers freely licensed or public-domain media. A copyrighted file may be used only when every requirement below is satisfied and the use makes a specific encyclopedic point that text or freely licensed media cannot adequately replace.

Community, nonprofit, or educational status does not by itself make a use fair. Fair use is decided case by case under applicable law.<ref>{{Source
|url=https://www.copyright.gov/fair-use/
|title=U.S. Copyright Office Fair Use Index — About Fair Use
|publisher=U.S. Copyright Office
|accessed=2026-09-15
|supports=Fair use is evaluated case by case under four statutory factors; nonprofit status is not conclusive.
}}</ref>

== Mandatory requirements ==
A non-free file may be uploaded only if all of these conditions are met:
# '''No adequate free equivalent:''' no freely licensed image can serve the same encyclopedic purpose.
# '''Published source:''' the work has already been lawfully published.
# '''Minimal amount:''' use only the portion and number of files necessary.
# '''Minimal resolution:''' use no more resolution than required for identification or commentary.
# '''Contextual significance:''' the file is discussed or identifies the subject of the article; it is not decoration.
# '''Article use only:''' non-free files are not used on user pages, talk pages, project decoration, templates, category galleries, or navigation pages.
# '''One rationale per use:''' every article inclusion has a page-specific rationale.
# '''Complete file record:''' identify the source, rights holder where known, original work, extraction method, date checked, modifications, and reuse basis.
# '''No commercial substitution:''' the wiki copy must not substitute for obtaining the original work.
# '''Reviewable and removable:''' delete or remove the file when the rationale fails, a free replacement becomes available, or a rights holder makes a credible request.

These controls are modeled in part on English Wikipedia's non-free-content criteria, but adoption here is a separate local editorial decision.<ref>{{Source
|url=https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:Non-free_content_criteria
|title=Wikipedia:Non-free content criteria
|publisher=English Wikipedia
|accessed=2026-09-15
|supports=Example criteria covering free alternatives, minimal use and resolution, contextual significance, sourcing, and use-specific rationales.
}}</ref>

== Pokémon species sprites ==
A single small normal front sprite may be used in a Pokémon species article solely to identify the creature's in-game appearance when:
* it comes from a dated PokeMMO client resource dump made by a contributor;
* the exact archive path and snapshot record are documented;
* the native small sprite is used without enlargement or enhancement;
* no shiny, rear, animated, alternate-generation, menu-icon, or overworld gallery is added unless separately necessary and justified;
* the file is not presented as freely licensed;
* the file page uses [[Template:Non-free use rationale|Non-free use rationale]].

Obtaining a sprite through PokeMMO's export utility establishes provenance, not permission to republish. Pokémon sprite repositories likewise warn that sprite images remain copyrighted.<ref>{{Source
|url=https://github.com/PokeAPI/sprites/blob/master/LICENCE.txt
|title=PokéAPI sprites licence
|publisher=PokéAPI
|accessed=2026-09-15
|supports=Pokémon sprite images in the repository remain copyrighted.
}}</ref>

== Prohibited uses ==
Do not:
* upload ROMs, extracted ROM archives, complete sprite sets, or resource-dump archives;
* claim that attribution turns copyrighted material into free content;
* use a software repository's code license as the image license;
* upload high-resolution promotional art when a small identifying sprite is sufficient;
* create decorative non-free galleries;
* label a file CC, public domain, or freely reusable without evidence.

== Review process ==
Before upload, complete the rationale and verify the target article exists. After upload, check the rendered file page, image dimensions, article inclusion, source link, and category. Record unresolved ownership or provenance issues openly.

Files are tracked in [[:Category:Non-free files]]. Questionable files should be removed from articles while reviewed.

<references />
[[Category:Wiki policies]]
[[Category:Wiki maintenance]]