rights-check-nasa-esa

Rights Check — NASA / ESA

A space-media asset + its credit → a clear usage verdict and a correct attribution line.

Purpose

NASA and ESA media have different default terms, and many "NASA" images actually carry third-party rights (ESA, observatories, individual astronomers, instrument teams). Misattributing or assuming public-domain status is a real risk. This skill resolves the rights for one asset and emits a usage verdict plus the exact attribution string to publish.

When it fires

• Keyword triggers: rights, usage rights, can I use this image, credit, attribution, license, copyright, public domain
• File triggers: rights.json, credits.md
• Command triggers: /rights-check, /rights-check-nasa-esa

Inputs

Input	Required	Notes
asset	yes	Image/video URL or source page.
credit	yes*	The published credit string, if available. *Strongly preferred.
use	no	Intended use: editorial, commercial, merch, thumbnail.

Decision rules (apply in order)

1. Read the credit string. Identify every named party.
2. NASA-only material is generally not copyrighted and may be reused, with attribution and without implying NASA endorsement — note the NASA media guidelines apply (e.g. logo/insignia and identifiable persons have extra rules). Verdict: usually allowed-with-attribution.
3. ESA / Hubble (ESA/Hubble) / observatory / individual credit → terms differ (often CC BY or similar, sometimes more restrictive). Verdict: check-license — name the governing license; do not assume public domain.
4. Any identifiable person, mission logo, or third-party logo present → restricted for commercial/endorsement use; flag explicitly.
5. Unknown or missing credit → do-not-publish-yet; instruct the user to resolve the source first.

Output contract

{
  "verdict": "allowed-with-attribution | check-license | restricted | do-not-publish-yet",
  "license": "string — e.g. 'NASA media guidelines', 'CC BY 4.0', 'unknown'",
  "attribution_line": "string — exact text to publish",
  "flags": ["string — e.g. 'contains ESA party', 'identifiable person'"],
  "notes": "string — what the user must still verify"
}

Tools & MCP

• Tools: WebFetch (open the source page to confirm credit/terms), Read.
• MCP dependencies: none required.

Quality bar

• Verdict follows the decision rules, not a guess.
• Never asserts "public domain" for ESA/observatory/individual credit.
• Attribution line is verbatim-faithful to the named parties.
• Identifiable persons / logos are flagged for commercial use.

Example

See examples/example-01.md.

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Built on SIP — Starlight Intelligence Protocol Substrate: starlightintelligence.org/protocol v1.1.0 Layers used: [file-contract, attestation, sovereignty] Vertical: starlight-agent-skills · portable capability layer