Commons:Files to be restored when out of copyright

Some file that have to be deleted from Commons purely for copyright issues could be validly be hosted here in the next few years once the copyright expires. To make it easier to restore such files when the time arrives we maintain a top-level category called Category:Undeletion requests. Within this there are year-by-year subcategories, eg Category:Undelete in 2030, which specify the year in which the files fall into the public domain and become eligible for restoration

Categorizing for later restoration

Since it is not possible directly to categorize deleted files, we categorize instead the corresponding deletion request page into the relevant year-based subcategory. If there is no suitable deletion request, individual files can be listed by name (with a red link) on the subcategory page. This has to be done manually, and anyone interested in having files undeleted when they fall into the public domain is encouraged to make use of these categories.

Note: If you are basing the date on "70 years after the death of the author", please remember that copyright always expires on 31st December of the calendar year of death. So, the file becomes copyright free on 1st January of the following year. The correct year category to use is thus Year of Death + 70 + 1.

Undeletion of files when in the public domain (admins only)

Only an admin can actually undelete the files once the time arrives.

Files in one of the Category:Undeletion requests subcategories may be eligible for restoration from January 1st of the year specified, and any admin may at that point consider possible undeletion. Note, however, that the categorization has probably never been checked for accuracy, and you should satisfy yourself on a file-by-file basis that copyright truly has expired and also that there are no non-copyright restrictions which would prevent Commons from hosting the file. Take particular care about the year, as users often incorrectly expect files to fall out of copyright exactly 70 years after the date of death of the author, rather than on January 1st of the year following. Please re-categorize any that are incorrect with the correct year.