Wrestling:Threshold of originality

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The threshold of originality is a concept in copyright law that is used to assess whether or not a particular work, or a portion of it, can be copyrighted. It is used to distinguish works that are sufficiently original to warrant copyright protection from those that are not. In this context, "originality" refers to *"coming from someone as the originator/author"* (insofar as it somehow reflects the author's personality), rather than *"never having occurred or existed before"* (which would amount to the protection of something new, as in patent protection).

***For further information, see Threshold of originality on Wikipedia***

## Official decisions

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**English:** Images judged ineligible for copyright protection by a court or similar authority. The last section contains selected images that may or may not be eligible for copyright protection.
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### Civil law countries

Civil law countries require a relatively high minimum level of intellectual creativity which will exclude typical signatures and simple logos from copyright protection.

*If you are aware of specific case law or legal advice on this issue in any country, please add a "Threshold of originality" section to the appropriate Commons:Copyright rules by territory country subpage, and add a link to it with an entry below.*
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### Common law countries

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Most Common law countries use a "skill and labour" test to determine the minimum level of originality capable of attracting copyright protection, and in some countries such as the UK the required level is extremely low. Without some research into individual laws, it cannot be assumed that a text logo from a Common law country is necessarily allowed on Commons. If there is real doubt about the position a local court would take, then the image must be deleted under the precautionary principle.

If the logo is extremely simple (e.g. in a standard font), it will not be eligible for copyright even in Common law countries.

If you are aware of specific case law or legal advice on this issue in any country, please add a "Threshold of originality" section to the appropriate Commons:Copyright rules by territory country subpage, and add a link to it with an entry below.
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## Commons decisions

*See Category:Threshold of originality related deletion requests*
### Logos and flags

The logos in these images may \*not\* be eligible for copyright protectionSymbolbild Glasentfernung Waggon Deutsche Bahn.JPGclaimed not to reach the thresholdJungstahlhelm.jpgclaimed not to reach the thresholdWDW New Fantasyland logo.jpgDRBlack Ford Fiesta X100 - 008.jpgDRDow Wolff Cellulosics (DOW).svg(DR)Sonic-Generations-transparent-bg.png(DR) "PD text logo -- no question"Abbywinters logo.jpg(Australian company logo DR) "PD-textlogo"Accessible Media Inc.png(Canada company logo DR) "PD-textlogo"Walmart Canada Logo.svg(DR)24 title.jpg(DR)Comic Party logo.png(DR)Google Chrome 2011 Logo.svg(DR)
* File:Hercules 1998 Intertitle.png originally "background isn't elaborate or eligible for any type of copyright" (decided here in 2010), deleted in 2012 as "shows artistry beyond the TOO".

### Architecture

Images which have been kept because of lack of originality or *de minimis*:

Larouvieremarseille.jpgCSG Ariane 4 Launch Site.JPGCSG - BIF.JPGParis-Parc-des-Princes.jpgGare du Stade-de-France-St-Denis CRW 0777.jpgRonchamp Notre dame du Haut 1954.jpgStade-Gerland-RWC2007.JPG
Note that some of these decisions were controversial.

### Photographs

Photographs which have been deemed ineligible for copyright protection:

PinkStar.jpg(DR) Photograph of a three-dimensional object (drawer pull) with bevels and cast shadows
### Partial copying or cropping of copyrighted works

When a file copies only part of a copyrighted work, that file's copyright status is determined only by what it has copied. If it only copied uncopyrightable elements, then the file is also uncopyrightable. In other words, we judge the copyright status of a file only by what the file itself contains, not by the status of other content the original source contained that was not copied by the file.

### Lower threshold in United Kingdom etc.

* File:BBC.svg and many associated variants for BBC divisions were kept, because they *only* contain Gill Sans, which is an old, standard font.
* File:Clerical Medical.png (uploaded as non-free content (fair use) on en.wikipedia.org)
See Commons:Deletion requests/File:Clerical Medical.png (with reasoning of the EDGE logo).

## See also

* Commons:When to use the PD-scan tag - on the level of originality needed for a scan of a work to generate a copyright independent of the work
* Commons:When to use the PD-Art tag - on the level of originality needed for a photo of a work to generate a copyright independent of the work
* Open.Michigan Wiki. Casebook archive on "whether or not the content object is protected by US Copyright law.". Opening in the charts section.

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