Thread:Epic gammer/@comment-104549-20170915234951/@comment-104549-20171129024908

It does not sound lazy; on the contrary, you're clearly making an effort. It does sound like you're expecting more of the image uploader than is really reasonable. If you want to play it safe (which is never a bad idea), it's often best to assume that an image found online is copyrighted unless you can clearly prove it isn't. For example, if I upload a picture to my DeviantArt page, I'm not going to bother marking it with a copyright template; United States copyright law protects the image for me as soon as it's in final form (to summarize a more complex topic), even if I don't put the little copyright © on it. Registration with the United States Copyright Office is not required to have copyright. All this is to illustrate my point that assuming copyright exists unless you can prove otherwise is usually a smart plan.

That said, if you assume the image is copyrighted, you'll have to consider whether Fair Use applies, which is analyzed under a four-factor test. That analysis is all you; the admin team won't do it for you. If you conclude Fair Use does apply, then you can use the appropriate Fair Use template (either the generic one or one of the more specific ones listed here).

Alternatively or additionally, you can always ask the permission of the original artist; some artists are happy to allow permission (with proper attribution) either to expose their work to a broader audience, or just to be neighborly. In that case, either Permission and Fair Use or Copyright and Permission would apply. The former asserts that you think it's Fair Use even without permission, but you decided to cover your bases and ask for permission anyway; the latter means you've concluded it isn't Fair Use, but you got permission from the original artist.

It's worth noting that if the image is copyrighted, if you don't get permission and it isn't Fair Use, then there are no licensing options left and you can't use it. So the options for a copyrighted image are:
 * Fair Use
 * Permission
 * Both, or
 * Image must go