Website Terms of Use

1. Acceptance of Terms

By accessing, browsing, or using the British Maritime History website (the "Site") located at BritishMaritimeHistory.com, you acknowledge that you have read, understood, and agree to be bound by these Terms of Use and our Privacy Policy. If you do not agree to these terms, you must not use this Site.

We may revise these terms at any time. Your continued use of the Site after changes are posted constitutes your acceptance of the revised terms. We recommend reviewing this page periodically.

2. Intellectual Property Rights

The Site and its entire contents, features, and functionality (including but not limited to all information, software, text, displays, images, video, audio, and the design, selection, and arrangement thereof) are owned by British Maritime History, its licensors, or other providers of such material and are protected by United Kingdom and international copyright, trademark, patent, trade secret, and other intellectual property or proprietary rights laws.

Our Content: Original articles, compilations, digital reconstructions, timelines, and educational materials created by our team are © British Maritime History. All rights reserved.

Archival & Public Domain Materials: Many documents, images, and maps presented are sourced from public archives or are in the public domain. While the underlying historical item may be free of copyright, the specific digital scan, transcription, annotation, and metadata provided on this Site constitute our intellectual property.

You may view, download (where expressly permitted), and print single copies of material from the Site for your personal, non-commercial use, provided you:

• Do not modify the copies.
• Retain all copyright and proprietary notices.
• Do not use illustrations, photographs, video or audio sequences separately from accompanying text.
• Acknowledge British Maritime History as the source.

Any other use—including reproduction for commercial purposes, modification, distribution, republication, display, or performance—without our prior written consent is strictly prohibited.

3. Permissions for Academic & Research Use

We encourage the use of our materials for legitimate academic research, teaching, and private study. However, specific permissions are required beyond fair dealing/fair use provisions.

To request permission, email us with the details outlined in Section 10. We typically respond to academic requests within 10 working days.

4. User-Generated Content & Contributions

Certain areas of the Site may allow you to submit comments, transcriptions, or research notes ("Contributions"). By submitting Contributions, you grant us a perpetual, worldwide, non-exclusive, royalty-free license to use, reproduce, modify, adapt, publish, and display such content on the Site and in related promotional materials.

You represent and warrant that your Contributions are your original work, do not infringe any third-party rights, and are not defamatory, obscene, or unlawful. We reserve the right to remove any Contributions at our sole discretion.

5. Prohibited Uses

You may use the Site only for lawful purposes and in accordance with these Terms. You agree not to:

• Use the Site in any way that violates any applicable national or international law or regulation.
• Engage in any data mining, harvesting, or scraping of Site content using automated means (bots, crawlers, etc.) without our express written consent. Limited crawling by academic search engines may be permitted—contact us first.
• Impersonate or attempt to impersonate British Maritime History, an employee, another user, or any other person or entity.
• Introduce any viruses, Trojan horses, worms, logic bombs, or other material that is malicious or technologically harmful.
• Attempt to gain unauthorised access to, interfere with, damage, or disrupt any parts of the Site, the server on which the Site is stored, or any server, computer, or database connected to the Site.
• Systematically download our archives to create a competing database or resource.

6. Disclaimer of Warranties & Limitation of Liability

Historical Accuracy: While we strive for accuracy, historical interpretation is evolving. We make no warranties, express or implied, regarding the completeness, reliability, or absolute accuracy of the content. The Site is provided "as is" and "as available."

No Professional Advice: The content is for informational and educational purposes only. It does not constitute professional historical, legal, or nautical advice.

To the fullest extent provided by law, British Maritime History, its directors, employees, or agents will not be liable for any loss or damage of any nature arising from your use of the Site or reliance on any information presented, including, but not limited to, direct, indirect, special, or consequential loss.

7. Third-Party Links & Resources

The Site may contain links to third-party websites or resources. These links are provided for your convenience only. We have no control over the contents of those sites or resources, and accept no responsibility for them or for any loss or damage that may arise from your use of them.

If you decide to access any third-party websites linked from our Site, you do so entirely at your own risk and subject to the terms and conditions of use for such websites.

8. Governing Law & Jurisdiction

These Terms of Use and any dispute or claim arising out of or in connection with them shall be governed by and construed in accordance with the laws of England and Wales.

You agree that the courts of England and Wales shall have exclusive jurisdiction to settle any such dispute or claim, though we retain the right to bring proceedings against you for breach of these terms in your country of residence or any other relevant country.

9. Termination

We may terminate or suspend your access to all or part of the Site immediately, without prior notice or liability, for any reason whatsoever, including without limitation if you breach these Terms.

All provisions of the Terms which by their nature should survive termination shall survive, including, without limitation, ownership provisions, warranty disclaimers, indemnity, and limitations of liability.

10. Contact Information & Data Controller

For questions about these Terms, to report copyright concerns, or to request permissions, please contact the Data Controller:

Formal permission requests must be submitted in writing via email and should include: your name and affiliation, a detailed description of the requested material (including URLs), the intended use (publication, media, etc.), the distribution scope, and the timeframe.