Wikipedia:Copying text from other sources
 | This is an explanatory essay about the Wikipedia:Copyright violations policy and the Wikipedia:Plagiarism guideline. This page provides additional information about concepts in the page(s) it supplements. This page is not one of Wikipedia's policies or guidelines, as it has not been thoroughly vetted by the community. |
 | This page in a nutshell: With the exceptions of short quotations from copyrighted text, and text copied from a free source without a copyright, text from other sources may not be copied into Wikipedia. Doing so is a copyright violation and constitutes plagiarism. |
In most cases, you cannot copy text from other sources into Wikipedia. Doing so is a copyright violation. Always write the articles in your own words. While facts, titles, or publications cannot be copyrighted, you must cite the source to avoid plagiarism.
Can I copy text to Wikipedia that I got from somewhere else?
Generally no, do not copy text from other sources. This usually is both a copyright violation and plagiarism. Doing so usually constitutes both a copyright violation and plagiarism. This general rule includes copying material from websites of charity or non-profit organizations, educational, scholarly and news publications, and all sources without a copyright notice. If a work does not have a copyright notice, assume it to be under copyright protection.[1]
If I own the source, or work for the owner of the source, can I copy it to Wikipedia?
Generally no, unless the source already uses a compatible license (such as CC BY-SA), or you donate the source. A free license makes the source available for anyone – not just Wikipedia, but anyone using Wikipedia – to use, edit, and copy it for any purpose, even commercial ones. Unless the content is compatibly licensed or public domain, Wikipedia can't retain it. Not all content complies with our content policies, so compatible text is frequently not included. Some sources may have exclusive licenses that prohibit compatible licensing with Wikipedia.
Can I copy if I change the text a little bit?
No. Superficial change of copyright-protected text is not enough. Wikipedia articles must be written in the author's own words. If the way in which a source has said something is important, please employ quotation.
Can I copy text into a user page or talk page in order to work on it?
No. While your user page and talk page may include brief quotations from copyrighted text, Wikipedia cannot host extensive copying of non-compatible copyrighted material anywhere, not even in talk or user pages, not even temporarily.
What about quotes?
Brief quotations of copyrighted text may be used to illustrate a point, establish context, or attribute a point of view or idea. Use of copyrighted text must be in compliance with Wikipedia:Non-free content criteria policy. This means that the quotation must not be replaceable with free text (including text that the editor writes), must be minimal, must have contextual significance and must have previously been published.
How about copying from one Wikipedia article to another?
Yes, you can copy parts of one Wikipedia article into another, but you must link to the source article in your edit summary. Original content contributed by users can be freely used if the original author is properly attributed; use this edit summary:
Content in this edit is copied from [[source article]]; see that article's history for attribution.It is also recommended to make a note on the talk page of the source article that copying has occurred, because the source article cannot be deleted as long as content from it is used. The template {{copied}} can be used for this as well as on the destination article's talk page.
If you copied text but forgot to attribute the source in the edit summary at that time, this can easily be corrected after the fact: just make a dummy edit by making an inconsequential change to the article—such as adding a blank space—and link to the source article in the edit summary, as follows:
Content in the previous edit of 07:25, 17 June 2026 was copied from [[source article]]; see that article's history for attribution.Can I copy from open license or public domain sources?
It is acceptable to copy text from public domain sources or those that are explicitly licensed under a compatible licensing scheme. However, if you decide to do so, a dedicated attribution template must be used, and it is simply not enough to only mention the references and use inline citations. Attribution gives credit to the original author and is always required whether or not the text is free: see Wikipedia:Plagiarism. There is a guide for embedding freely licensed content (either public domain or Wikipedia Compatible licenses), at Wikipedia:Adding open license text to Wikipedia and the Copyright FAQ.
| License type |  Licenses compatible with Wikipedia
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 Licenses not compatible with Wikipedia
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|---|---|---|
| Creative Commons licenses |
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| Other licenses |
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In case of uncertainty, please ask at Wikipedia talk:Copyright problems for input from other editors.
Can I copy text from the interfaces in freely-licensed software?
If possible, screenshot the interface instead of copying the text. Screenshots fall other "non-text media" in Section 7d, which allows the use of some free copyleft licenses incompatible with CC BY-SA. For instance, on Wikimedia Commons, the use of GNU GPL-licensed media is allowed. For help with adding screenshots to Wikipedia, see Help:Images.
- Do not copy the interface text of GPL (or other copyleft licensed) programs directly onto Wikipedia.
- Do not copy the interface text of Apache-licensed (or other patent retaliation licensed) programs directly onto Wikipedia.
What about attribution-only programs?
While copying text from the interfaces of attribution-only licensed programs, like those licensed MIT or BSD, seem compatible with CC BY-SA, the Creative Commons has not declared compatibility. This, and the fact that some ostensibly attribution-only programs come with additional terms like the Commons Clause, mean you should screenshot the interface.
- Do not copy the interface text of attribution-only programs directly onto Wikipedia.
What about public domain programs?
Yes, you can copy interface text from public domain programs, or CC0 programs, directly onto Wikipedia, as public domain programs are compatible with the CC BY-SA license used by Wikipedia.
- Make sure the program is explicitly licensed CC0 or public domain, and use {{CC notice}} or {{PD-notice}} to indicate this.
Notes
- ^ Most websites (and other sources) are automatically protected by copyright under rules such as the Berne Convention, even if the author did not apply for copyright or place a copyright notice in their work.
- ^ For text only; please see Wikipedia:File copyright tags for licences allowed with files
- ^ Per Creative Commons' list of licenses that fulfill the ShareAlike requirement in CC BY-SA and CC BY-NC-SA.