Copyright and Fair Use

Last updated Sunday, April 02, 2023.

This site is non-profit and non-commerical and exists for the purposes of research and communication regarding the Renaissance cittern and related instruments. Outlined below is information regarding both copyright and "fair use" in relation to this site, as well as your legal rights and obligation for the use of any of the contents of this site.


Copyright and Fair Use:

All information and images provided on this site are copyrighted by Andrew Hartig, unless another copyright statement is listed. Specific exceptions to this include the following:

  • Any article or informational material posted to the site by other writers with that writer's permission, in which case the copyright remains with the original writer of the article.
  • Any mp3 or other audio files, posted by permission of the artist, in which case the copyright remains with the original artist.
  • Any music score or tablature file, posted by permission of the arranger, intabulator, author, or editor, in which case the copyright remains with said arranger, intabulator, author, or editor. Some of these files may already contain a copyright notice; however, the absence of such a copyright notice does not negate the original arranger, intabulator, author, or editor's copyright.

"Copyright" refers to legal protection for works of authorship. In the USA, such protection is automatically provided to authors, and no registration is required. Therefore, this web site and the material contained therein, is automatically under copyright protection in USA. A good overview is the circular: United States Copyright Office: Copyright Basics. Copyright protection laws vary by country.

"Fair Use" is a provision in the US Copyright law which allows use of copyright material for certain purposes. Based on the "Fair Use" provision, as an educational, "not-for-profit" entity, this web site is entitled by law to use the photographs, quotations, and other source material contained herein. Images taken from books, web sites or other published sources without express permission are reproduced here for research purposes only, and are displayed at low (72dpi) resolution only. If anyone believes an image belonging to him or her is mis-credited, or violates his or her use policy, please contact me for correction or removal.

§ 107. Limitations on exclusive rights: Fair use
"Notwithstanding the provisions of sections 106 and 106A, the fair use of a copyrighted work, including such use by reproduction in copies or phonorecords or by any other means specified by that section, for purposes such as criticism, comment, news reporting, teaching (including multiple copies for classroom use), scholarship, or research, is not an infringement of copyright. In determining whether the use made of a work in any particular case is a fair use the factors to be considered shall include —

(1) the purpose and character of the use, including whether such use is of a commercial nature or is for nonprofit educational purposes;
(2) the nature of the copyrighted work;
(3) the amount and substantiality of the portion used in relation to the copyrighted work as a whole; and
(4) the effect of the use upon the potential market for or value of the copyrighted work."

- Copyright Law of the United States of America and Related Laws Contained in Title 17 of the United States Code, Circular 92, section 107.

Your rights and obligations:

Permission is given for you or others to use the information contained on this site, so long as this site and the work contained therein is properly cited. Please note that permission must be obtained from the original copyright holders for the duplication or use of any of the images, audio files, or music scores contained in this site.


All site contents, unless otherwise stated, are copyright © Andrew M. Hartig, 1999-2023. All rights reserved.