 | This is an information page. It is not one of Wikipedia's policies or guidelines; rather, its purpose is to explain certain aspects of Wikipedia's norms, customs, technicalities, or practices. It may reflect differing levels of consensus and vetting. |
Freedom of panorama (FoP) is a copyright-law principle, in some but not all jurisdictions, under which a building or other work that a) is subject to copyright but b) is on permanent public display, may be photographed/filmed in its public context without the derivative-work photographic record being a copyright infringement.
The English Wikipedia follows U.S. copyright law only, described in more detail at Commons:Copyright rules by territory/United States#Freedom of panorama. Basically, we accept images of buildings and structures taken anywhere in the world, but not images of sculptures or other works of art. If the image is free in the country where the building is located or photographed, consider uploading to Wikimedia Commons instead. If the image is non-free in its source country, upload it locally to English Wikipedia under {{FoP-USonly}}.
The acceptance of such images under their original resolutions is the result of a consensus from 2012, which states that the English Wikipedia is only bound to comply with U.S. copyright law, and that U.S. freedom of panorama is permitted under lex loci protectionis.