Wikimedia Commons

Commons:WikiProject Public Domain/PD-NWS review

< Commons:WikiProject Public Domain

This review is prompted by discussions around deletion requests in July 2024 that have brought closer scrutiny to the assumptions that were made when the {{PD-NWS}} template was created in 2009. See also the discussion at Template talk:PD-NWS and Commons:Village pump/Copyright#Possible issues with Template:PD-NWS.

The core objective of this review is to confirm the public domain status of various third-party images presently or previously hosted on the servers of the US National Weather Service.

Project timeline

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First pass

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2004-08-07 – 2004-08-29 (complete)

Second pass

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2004-09-14 – 2004-09-19 (complete)

  • process all files linked to NWS offices via regional headquarters of NOAA; ie, linked to *rh.noaa.gov
  • 1055 files, many overlaps with first pass
  • to expedite processing, stop retagging charts, infographics, radar images; focus on photographic works

Third pass

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2004-09-16 – 2004-09-30 (complete)

  • process all files linked to weather.gov
  • 2218 files, many overlaps with first and second passes
  • continue to focus on photographic works

Evidence collected

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A1. Pertinent sections of the general disclaimer on the weather.gov website:

"The information on National Weather Service (NWS) Web pages are in the public domain, unless specifically noted otherwise..."

and

"Use of Third-Party Data and Products
Third-party information and imagery are used under license by the individual third-party provider. This third-party information may contain trade names, trademarks, service marks, logos, domain names, and other distinctive brand features to identify the source of the information. [...] Please contact the third-party provider for information on your rights to further use these data/products."

A2. The pertinent part of the submission process for third-party images formerly included on a page maintained by the Sioux Falls, South Dakota, Forecast Office.

"By submitting images, you understand that your image is being released into the public domain. This means that your photo or video may be downloaded, copied, and used by others."

A3. NWS public submission processes found and documented so far:

Office or project Submission Ts & Cs Scope Earlist and latest known dates Free license? Notes
NWS Albuquerque, NM "Because this is a government web site, images submitted to us become part of the public domain. How to Submit Your Photo: Email your photo to the webmaster. Make sure you include the location, date, time, and who to give credit to in the body of the email. In addition, please provide written permission to use your photo." Albuquerque Photo Archive 2008–2008 (only known successful crawl, all others are 302 errors) Ambiguous Terms and conditions are contradictory; they ask submitter to "provide written permission to use [their] photo", but state that submissions "become part of the public domain". The resulting copyright and license status would depend on what the submitter actually wrote in their written permission, which we have no access to.
NWS Chicago, IL "Share your fall foliage, harvest, pumpkin, or fall weather pictures with us! Please post them to our Facebook and/or Twitter page with your permission for us to use them. Thank you!" Unclear 2017 - present No Submission only gives "us" (NWS Chicago? NWS generally?) permission to use the photos.
NWS Cleveland, OH "You must provide us with permission to re-post and use your photo. You will received credit on anything we post!" (sic) Unclear 2021 - present No Submission only gives "us" (NWS Cleveland? NWS generally?) permission to use the photos.
"If you have information you would like to share with us, please e-mail us at the NWS Cleveland or send us the information via the poastal service at: (...) We are looking for: Pictures (digital or prints) Stories Impact and Statistics Note that we will not be able to return any of the information. We will give credit to all information posted unless otherwise requested. We do not guarantee all the information received will be posted." (sic) Tornado Outbreak May 31, 1985 - Pictures 2017 - present No Process makes no mention of public domain. Submitted images published with attribution "Courtesy..."
NWS Des Moines, IA "If you do send photos, please let us know if you grant permission for us to use them in future spotter talks and outreach presentations." ("What and how to report" tab) "future spotter talks and outreach presentations" 2015 - present No Submission only gives "us" (NWS Des Moines? NWS generally?) permission to use the photos in a specific context
NWS Grand Forks, ND "If you do send photos, please let us know if you grant permission for us to use them in future spotter talks and outreach presentations." ("What and how to report" tab) "future spotter talks and outreach presentations" 2023 - present No Submission only gives "us" (NWS Grand Forks? NWS generally?) permission to use the photos in a specific context
NWS Grand Junction, CO "If you have a weather related photograph that you would like to submit for the Image Gallery page, please E-mail the webmaster." Image Gallery 2007 - 2012 No Gives permission to publish on the image galley page.
NWS Grand Rapids, MI (missing) May 2020 Heavy Rain and River Flooding 2020 - unclear (page is still live, but notice is in the past tense and it's unclear whether NWS Grand Rapids is still accepting photos for this page). Probably no "Thank you to everyone who gave us permission to use their photos!" -- the original context is missing, but the acknowledgment here implies that this was a permission to use, not a release into the PD.
(missing) June 1st, 2019 Severe Weather 2019 - unclear (page is still live, but notice is in the past tense and it's unclear whether NWS Grand Rapids is still accepting photos for this page). Probably no as above
NWS Green Bay, WI "In order for us to use your photo for the Photo Contest and other NWS Green Bay weather graphics, WE NEED WRITTEN PERMISSION from you. Please include a statement with your submission like, “NWS Green Bay may use my photo” or “Permission granted to use photo.” Photos submitted without such a statement will NOT be entered into the contest." NWS Green Bay 2018 Holiday Photo Contest and "other NWS Green Bay weather graphics" November-December 2018 No Submission only gives NWS Green Bay permission to re-share the contribution, not anybody else (maybe not even any other NWS offices).
NWS La Crosse, WI "Do you have some pictures from the surrounding area that you would like to contribute to our photos page? Email us your digital photos, along with the location and date they were taken (include your name if you'd like it included). We will review them, and if they pass the "test", they will be included. Please note that this is a government site and in the public domain, so no copyright privileges will exist." Photos page 2015 - unclear (page is still live, but photos on it were all unpublished by 2021 and it's unclear whether NWS La Crosse is still accepting photos for this page). Yes Images emailed for inclusion on the photos page are unambiguously released into the public domain, but for third-party images that appear elsewhere on NWS La Crosse's site (let alone other NWS sites), we can't know whether they were submitted this way or under these terms.
NWS Lincoln, IL "If you can help up, please paste your photos to our Facebook or Twitter feeds. Make sure they are pictures YOU have taken, and state that you are willing to let us use them." NWS Lincoln Daily Weather Story Northern Spring, 2024 No Submission only gives the NWS permission to re-share the contribution, not anybody else.
NWS Louisville, KY "By submitting images, you understand that your image is being released into the public domain. This means that your photo or video may be downloaded, copied, and used by others." also available here Unclear 2009 - 2021 (note URL change, and there are subsequent captures of error pages). Yes In place from at least 2009–2022 at one of two URLs. However, we have no way of knowing whether any specific image published on weather.gov/lmk (let alone to other parts of weather.gov) was submitted under these terms, or whether submitters were necessarily even aware of them. The language of the terms and conditions is strange too, describing the public domain at one point, but permission for the NWS and NOAA to use the images for specific purposes ("storm reports, training presentations, printed materials, and web sites") elsewhere
"We are eager to receive interesting photos of any weather phenomena, sunsets & sunrises, and scenic views from the area. Older pictures from historical weather events are particularly welcome. Feel free to use these pictures but we do request that you give credit to the original author or organization. Note: Because this is a government web site, images submitted to us become part of the public domain. Images should be amateur photography as copyright privileges do not exist." NWS Louisville Photo Album 2005 - 2014 (last successful crawl) Yes Disclaimer specific to the "NWS Louisville Photo Album" page. There are sorted subpages beneath this, with photos we can reasonably assume were submitted under these terms and conditions. Unfortunately, it seems that few of these photos ever made it onto archive.org and they are no longer published.
NWS Memphis, TN "By sharing information with us via social media you are giving the NWS permission to share it with the public by re-tweeting or re-sharing the information." Unclear, but the context makes it appear to be the NWS Memphis Twitter and Facebook accounts 2016 - present No Submission only gives the NWS permission to re-share the contribution, not anybody else.
NWS Milwaukee, WI "Do you have some beautiful and unique pictures of weather that occurred in the National Weather Service's Milwaukee/Sullivan Forecast Area? Would you like to have them included on our Photo Gallery page? Please email your digital photos to the webmaster at: w-mkx.webmaster@noaa.gov They will be reviewed, and if they pass the "test", we will include them on the page! We also ask you to include the Month/Day/Year/County/Nearest City of the weather event captured on film. If you'd like your name included, please provide that as well. Thanks for participating!" NWS Milaukee Photo Gallery 2006 - 2007 No Submission only gives the NWS permission to re-share the contribution, not anybody else.
NWS Omaha, NE "Submitted images will be made available to use by anyone in the NWS and will be in the Public Domain." but also "Yes/No – is photo credit required with each use?" Unclear, URL refers to a photo contest Unclear. Earliest capture is 2023, but internal evidence points to 2019. Page is still live, but it's unclear up to when NWS Omaha was accepting photos this way. Ambiguous The requirement to provide a photo credit is incompatible with releasing something into the public domain. If somebody submitted a photo and specified this requirement, it is unclear what the resulting copyright and licence status would be.
NWS Peachtree City, GA "If you have any weather related pictures you would like to share with us, we would be glad to put them on this Web Page and possibly use them in our Spotter Training with the proper credits." "Our" Photo Gallery Unclear, earliest capture is 2017, but photos on the page date between 1998 and 2008. The page is still live, but it's uncertain whether NWS Peachtree City is still accepting submissions this way. Ambiguous Submission terms grants NWS permission to publish images on web and in training material. Implicitly includes a promise of attribution, incompatible with public domain. However, the same page also grants third parties permission to re-use the photos, and only requests attribution. Given this, it's impossible to be certain what, exactly, submitters agreed to.
NWS Sioux Falls, SD "By submitting images, you understand that your image is being released into the public domain. This means that your photo or video may be downloaded, copied, and used by others." Unclear 2022 - 2024 Yes This condition of submission to this office was in place since at least 2022. However, we have no way of knowing whether any specific image published on weather.gov/fsd (let alone to other parts of weather.gov) was submitted under these terms, or whether submitters were necessarily even aware of them. NWS Sioux Falls removed this language by August 8, 2024
"Any submitted images may be used by the NWS or its parent organization, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Association, in storm reports, training presentations, printed materials, and web sites." Unclear current from August 2024 No Only grants NWS and NOAA right to use photos and only for specific purposes
Lightning Photos "The submitted images can be used by NOAA/NWS or anyone else for lightning safety and related uses." Lightning Photos page and elsewhere 2019 - present No Not a free licence since it does not allow images to be used for any purpose other than lightning safety or related uses.
Rip Current Photos "The submitted images can be used by NOAA/NWS or anyone else for lightning safety and related uses." Rip Current Photos page and elsewhere 2020 - present No Not a free licence since it does not allow images to be used for any purpose other than lightning safety or related uses. Apparently just copied from the Lightning Photos page without adjusting the terms and conditions to apply to rip currents.
Sneaker Wave and High Surf Photos "The submitted images can be used by NOAA/NWS or anyone else for lightning safety and related uses." Sneaker Wave and High Surf Photos page and elsewhere 2020 - present No Not a free licence since it does not allow images to be used for any purpose other than lightning safety or related uses. Apparently just copied from the Lightning Photos page without adjusting the terms and conditions to apply to dangerous waves.
Weather Spotter's Field Guide "If you are willing to allow the NWS to use your photo or video in our education and outreach efforts, please state that NWS has permission to reprint when you submit the file to us. If you would like us to credit you on the image, we will gladly do that." NWS education and outreach efforts 2023 - present No Not a free licence since it does not allow images to be used by anyone other than the NWS or for any purpose other than education and outreach.

A4. Excerpt from email from NWS La Crosse to User:Hurricanehink

"... Our belief is that someone can still allow us to use an image on our website, but can still hold their intellectual property rights. You may need to go directly to the individual(s) that contributed imagery for additional permissions...."

A5. Excerpt from email from NWS Sioux Falls to User:Rlandmann

"... Our apologies for the delay in a response, but we wanted to run your question through our legal team before replying. No, not all images credited to members of the general public are in the public domain on weather.gov. In some cases, the credited image creator has only given permission for the National Weather Service to use the image on NOAA websites.
The disclaimer page that you cited in your email was created specifically for a prior photo submission contest and since has been used occasionally when requesting images from the public taken during specific storm events. It is the opinion of the legal team that they "do not believe a disclaimer, alone, can be used to transfer a copyright holder's ownership interest to NOAA or to abandon the copyright interest to the public domain". Since then, we have removed the questionable language on the disclaimer page...."

A6. Previous DRs for similar images, closed as keep and apparently unaware of multiple, parallel processes

DR Closing admin comments
Commons:Deletion requests/File:The Andover, Kansas EF3 tornado.jpg "...per the NWS T&C, it can be reasonably assumed that the photographer understood that his work was going to become PD"
Commons:Deletion requests/File:SD Tornado.jpg "per User:TornadoLGS", who said "Such images have explicitly been released to the public domain by the copyright owner as part of the upload process"
Commons:Deletion requests/File:2020aug-derecho-corn-sunset-Adel-IA.jpg "per NWS provisions" (there were two comments, both to "keep", both citing the submissions process)
Commons:Deletion requests/File:2019 Allen, SD tornado.jpg "per discussion" (there were three comments, all to "keep", the only reason cited was the submissions process)
Commons:Deletion requests/File:2020aug-derecho-damage-Scranton-Iowa.jpg as above
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