Wikipedia:Contributor copyright investigations

Contributor copyright investigations (CCI) is a process intended to identify users who have repeatedly committed copyright violations in articles or uploaded many copyrighted images (typically over a long period of time), and is intended to systematically remove this infringing material. This process begins with the filing of a CCI by an editor who notices a large-scale pattern of copyright violation by an individual contributor and, if the case is approved, will lead to a complete survey of their contributions, followed by removal of any material suspected to be infringing copyright.

This process is intended for large-scale systematic copyright violations only. Persistent unattributed copying or translation within Wikipedia or from other Wikimedia properties or compatibly licensed sources may also be raised here. To list individual media files or articles for evaluation, see Wikipedia:Copyright problems or Wikipedia:Files for discussion; however, attempting resolution is not required prior to filing a CCI request.

As a rule of thumb, at least five instances of clear copyvios (copy/pasting of unlicensed third party material; clear derivative works) should be required to file a case. There are no other requirements for filing a CCI request.

New cases should be filed by placing the {{subst:CCI-request}} underneath the requests header below.

{{subst:CCI-request|user = the user subject to the CCI|evidence = your reasoning for opening the case}}

Please remember to remain civil. Some contributors violate copyright policies due to a misunderstanding of copyright policies or laws, rather than malicious intent. While it may be necessary to intervene to prevent future copyright issues, it is not helpful to treat individuals listed here discourteously. Good faith requests are welcome even if they should prove mistaken. However, please remember that this is a serious allegation and should not be made without evidence. Requests without evidence may be interpreted as harassment.

After submitting a case, please notify the contributor by adding {{subst:CCI-notice}} ~~~~ to the bottom of their talk page. It is not necessary to notify individuals who are currently blocked for copyright infringement, even if temporarily.

Following a CCI request, a CCI clerk or admins will determine whether concerns are substantiated, based on the evidence presented and the response of the editor who is the subject of the CCI. Non-admin clerks may request that an administrator reviews deleted contributions where necessary. If the evidence does not substantiate the concern, the CCI request will be declined, and then filed in the archive subpage.

If a user has requested evaluation of your contributions here, please remember that the purpose of this process is not to harass or embarrass you, but to ensure that Wikipedia remains compliant with copyright laws. If you believe that your contributions have not constituted a copyright problem under Wikipedia's policies, please succinctly provide your rationale. If it should prove that the contributor who made the request is mistaken, this will be noted and the request archived. However, if concerns are substantiated, you may best demonstrate your willingness to comply with Wikipedia's copyright policies by helping to identify and address the copyright issues you have caused.

Upon accepting a case, a clerk or uninvolved admin will create the appropriate contributor survey subpage and then populate the contribution data.

If contributors have been proven to have a history of extensive copyright violation, it may be assumed without further evidence that all of their major contributions are copyright violations, and thus removed indiscriminately, in accordance with Wikipedia:Copyright violations. If such indiscriminate removal would be controversial or cause considerable collateral damage, an effort must be made to assemble a volunteer force sufficient to evaluate problematic contributions. If insufficient volunteers are available to manage clean-up, presumptive wholesale removal is allowed.

To participate in cases, follow the link of one of the open cases. All contributors with no history of copyright problems are welcome to contribute to clean up, and users who are listed here are encouraged to help clean up their own materials. The user should not expect to receive individual notices of articles or images that are deleted or blanked for copyright concerns during the course of a CCI.

The Y and N (created with {{y}} and {{n}}) templates are used to confirm whether the edit was a copyright issue. The ? (created with {{?}}) template is used to indicate that the edit has already been either deleted or completely rewritten, and therefore confirming whether the edit contained copyright issues is impossible, or else not worth the effort. Upon completion, the CCI case will be filed on the archive subpage.