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This isn't a United States harbor. Wikimedia Commons hosting policy is somewhat different from English Wikipedia hosting policy. And half of all Wikimedia Foundation visitor traffic occurs on sites other than the English language Wikipedia. Images that are public domain in the United States aren't necessarily public domain elsewhere. The difference has a large impact at a global project.
To illustrate the difference, the image at right is a featured picture at English Wikipedia but is ineligible for hosting at Wikimedia Commons. The poster was created in 1921, which makes it public domain in the United States and perfectly good for local hosting on the English language edition of Wikipedia. Yet it cannot be hosted on Commons because it has not entered the public domain in France, its country of origin. The artist Geo Dorival lived until 1968 and French copyright...So what's the status of that 1910 harbor panorama? Although it might seem so old that it must be public domain, that's really not guaranteed. The image of a nurse dates from World War I and only recently entered public domain in its country of origin. If that harbor happens to be in a country that observes life + 70 years as the standard term of copyright, and if the artist lived until 1947, then this image wouldn't be in the public domain yet. We have to understand these issues before we can upload.
To illustrate the difference, the image at right is a featured picture at English Wikipedia but is ineligible for hosting at Wikimedia Commons. The poster was created in 1921, which makes it public domain in the United States and perfectly good for local hosting on the English language edition of Wikipedia. Yet it cannot be hosted on Commons because it has not entered the public domain in France, its country of origin. The artist Geo Dorival lived until 1968 and French copyright...So what's the status of that 1910 harbor panorama? Although it might seem so old that it must be public domain, that's really not guaranteed. The image of a nurse dates from World War I and only recently entered public domain in its country of origin. If that harbor happens to be in a country that observes life + 70 years as the standard term of copyright, and if the artist lived until 1947, then this image wouldn't be in the public domain yet. We have to understand these issues before we can upload.
Nope! Gosh, do I have to do *everything* for you? D, a law's no good if it's not applicable, crossing borders and legal-forum-shopping can be a headache and costly and that's why multilateral laws are drafted and signed by member states, aka countries. This treaty (treaties being a principal source of international law) is legally binding to signatories, enforcable in WIPO dispute settlement.
You don't need to translate country laws and learn 190-odd legal systems of adjudication. You need to read the Bern Treaty. Here are the list of signatories. If you have issues with the Bern treaty, and the copyright is in the jurisdiction of a signatory state, you can take it to court at WIPO. I believe I already mentioned the place to you, two days ago.
Honestly.
All below quoted text and whatever-else-she-wrote is irrelevant. Though a vast improvement over the Ive-been-stalked-ohmigosh-phoney-baloney-campaign-that-makes-me-not-sure-if-I-want-to-laugh-or-cry.
See Durova - aren't you glad you defamed me with a false accusation, libeled me, and god-knows-what-else you did that-may-fall-out-of-the-broom-closet-after-the-report? See, I actually know things that most people don't your charming self inclusive.
But please - don't mind me. DO motor on.
Read the freaking treaty. Read about international law. Hello. Reinvent the wheel much? (groan)
And remember that copyright law doesn't require registration with a statuatory body. Anytime you doodle on a piece of paper, you hold copyright. Copyright is allocated at the time of production of the piece of material, under the Bern treaty. To enforce copyright, one only need prove that the work existed prior to the case at hand. We used to email written works years ago toget an email time-stamp for this reason, long before the DMCA.
And cut it out with the bs media campaign about you being stalked and harassed. It's a crock of dirt and irritating for people who know it to read your baloney. That's not a threat - and if you claim it is, your an even bigger weenie than I think you are now. It's just basic good common sense. Keep writing about copyrights - its a HUGE GIANT SUPER DUPER improvement than making up big whoppers. Please stop picking on people like you did on that kid a day or so ago. That REALLY bugs me. And calm down about what youre obviously riled about.
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It turns out the 1910 panorama was taken in Havana Harbor. Commons has copyright law summaries available in English for only three Latin American countries: Mexico, Argentina, and Brazil. In order to decipher this image's status I had to thread through Cuban copyright law. This one is public domain. I'd like to make a reference summary available for other Wikimedians who want to upload historical Cuban material, but I don't trust my Spanish enough for that important task. It's one thing to determine whether a particular image is public domain, another thing to summarize all relevant Cuban copyright law for the entire English speaking public. If your mastery of Spanish is better than mine, please help.
We need more people to translate copyright information for Wikimedia Commons. Right now Commons summaries are pretty good for North America and Europe, spotty for Asia, and seriously lacking for Africa and Latin America. When it comes to countering systemic bias, this is an issue that stops large numbers of people at the starting gate. So if you're fluent in Spanish, French, or any non-European language, please review the summary list at Commons:Licensing and see if your skills match the need. Online source references are available below.