Commons:Deletion requests/File:The Andover, Kansas EF3 tornado.jpg

This file was initially tagged by WeatherWriter as Copyvio (copyvio) and the most recent rationale was: Per the NWS Public Domain template, Thus, all images on NWS servers are public domain (including "Courtesy of ..." and “Photo by ...” images) unless specifically stated otherwise through a copyright watermark. This specifically has a watermark on the image, therefore it is not in the public domain and is copyrighted. —‍Mdaniels5757 (talk • contribs) 00:03, 10 July 2023 (UTC)[reply]

This is more complex than that. The image is watermarked with attribution information only, and I would say that that is not enough to claim copyright given the plain language of the disclaimer at [1] (notwithstanding the template). But that disclaimer seems to only apply to the Sioux Falls, SD office (see URL and header). The correct disclaimer is [2], and provides that "The information on National Weather Service (NWS) Web pages are in the public domain, unless specifically noted otherwise", but I don't see anything telling the uploaders that they are dedicating the image to the public domain... —‍Mdaniels5757 (talk • contribs) 00:12, 10 July 2023 (UTC)[reply]

It is assumed through the upload process. In the first disclaimer link you sent: “By submitting images, you understand that your image is being released into the public domain.” All the NWS offices speak for the NWS, as they are just location-based offices. Here was a previous discussion involving NWS webpage copyrighted images: [3]. The reason that image was deleted was due to it having a copyright watermark. It is rare to have a “unless specifically noted otherwise” instance on NWS webpages. this one for 1979 tornadoes is a rare exception. But looking at this web page for some 2014 tornadoes (deletion example from above), some of the images have a watermark. Some do not. NWS allows copyrighted and public domain images to be submitted. Any image with a watermark (or the rare “noted otherwise cases”) are not public domain, while any images without a watermark are considered public domain. WeatherWriter (talk) 03:26, 10 July 2023 (UTC)[reply]

Mdaniels5757 — You may be right. Hopefully this get’s closed soon so a verdict for these type of images. WeatherWriter (talk) 18:53, 21 July 2023 (UTC)[reply]

There is nothing wrong with keeping this photo. It came directly from NWS Wichita event page, so its public domain. ChessEric (talk) 22:01, 3 September 2023 (UTC)[reply]

Kept: An attribution watermark is not an explicit claim of copyright, and per the NWS T&C, it can be reasonably assumed that the photographer understood that his work was going to become PD. —holly {chat} 00:05, 11 November 2023 (UTC)[reply]