These terms explain how you may use and quote Copyright Information, and the limits of what the site provides. By reading the site you agree to them. They are written in plain language on purpose.
01Using and quoting this site
The text on this site is written by the Copyright Information editors and is protected by copyright. You are welcome to read it, print it, and share links to it.
You may quote from our pages, including in articles, coursework, presentations, research and answers to questions, as long as you:
- credit Copyright Information as the source;
- link to the page you quoted, where the format allows a link;
- keep the quote accurate and in context, without changing its meaning.
Teachers and librarians may share our pages with students and patrons, and may print copies for classroom or library use. Please do not republish whole pages or large parts of the site elsewhere, present our writing as your own, or imply that we endorse you or your product.
Statutes, court opinions and US government documents we quote or link to are not ours, and their own terms apply. Most US federal government works are not protected by copyright.
02General information, not legal advice
Every page on this site gives general information about copyright, mostly US law. It is not legal advice, and it is not a substitute for advice from a lawyer who knows the facts of your situation. Reading the site, or emailing us, does not create a lawyer and client relationship.
We work hard to keep pages accurate and show the date each page was last reviewed. Even so, the law changes, especially for AI and copyright, and the answer to your question may depend on facts or on the law of another country. Before acting on anything you read here in a situation that matters, such as a dispute, a notice, a contract or a business plan, talk to a lawyer licensed where you live.
The site is provided as is. To the extent the law allows, we are not responsible for decisions you make based on it.
03Links to other sites
We link to primary sources such as statutes, court opinions and Copyright Office documents, and sometimes to other publications for more detail. We link to them because they help explain a point, not because we endorse their owners. We do not control those sites, and their own terms and privacy policies apply when you visit them.
Sources sometimes move or disappear. If a link no longer works, please let us know so we can fix it.
You may link to any page on this site without asking. Please do not frame our pages inside another site in a way that hides where they come from.
04Changes
We may update these terms from time to time, for example to reflect changes in how the site works. When we do, we will change this page and its review date. The version shown here is the one that applies.
If you have a question about these terms, or want to reuse our material in a way they do not cover, email the editors.
Related pages: see how the site is written and reviewed on our About page, how to reach the editors on our Contact page, and how visits are counted in our privacy policy.