Copyright & Intellectual Property
Updated: January 8, 2026
The American Rhetoric Mission: For over 25 years, AmericanRhetoric.com (AR) has served as an independent, public archive dedicated to the preservation and reproduction of significant public discourse. Supported by site advertising and personal investment, AR aims to bridge the gap between historical public record and living, recreated experience in service to the common good generally and to the Arts and Sciences in particular.
1. Rights & Ownership Categories
Content on this site generally falls into three distinct legal categories. Users are responsible for determining the legal requirements for their specific use case:
- Public Domain Materials: Many historical artifacts (e.g., U.S. Government speeches) are in the public domain. AR claims no ownership over these original, unaltered works. Users are free to use such materials as legally permissible under U.S. law.
- Third-Party Copyrighted Works (Fair Use): Certain materials, such as "Movie Speeches," are the property of their respective copyright holders. AR utilizes these under Fair Use for educational analysis. AR is not authorized to grant or deny permission for the redistribution of these assets; users must consult the original rights holders.
- AR Proprietary Derivative Works: AR holds copyright in many of its "As Delivered" Transcripts (reflecting the speech as spoken; further additions to these include bespoke hyperlinking, end note commentary, sundry editorial choices for rhetorical emphasis) and Media Restorations (proprietary digital enhancements of audio, video, still image artifacts). These specific editions are the intellectual property of AmericanRhetoric.com.
That stated, there remain important caveats to the above distinctions. For instance, transcripts delivered by a UK Prime Minister may have "Authentictiy Certified" status but still retain its Crown Copyright. Consequently, site users should consult copyight data normally appearing at the bottom of speech transcripts for additional clarification.
2. Permitted and Prohibited Use
Permitted User Classes
AmericanRhetoric.com encourages the use of its proprietary materials for educational and/or transformative purposes. Permitted users include:
- Students & Educators: For personal study, classroom instruction, and pedagogical development.
- Scholars & Researchers: For academic research and peer-reviewed publication. (Note: Please cite AmericanRhetoric.com as the source).
- Civic Participants & Social Commentators: For the general public and advocates using materials to illustrate a point or offer commentary on social media and community forums.
- Legal & Media Professionals: For journalists and legal practitioners using assets as a primary source reference in news reporting or legal filings.
*All permitted uses of AR proprietary editions must provide clear attribution to AmericanRhetoric.com.
Prohibited Uses
The following activities regarding AR proprietary assets (transcripts/restorations) are strictly prohibited without express written permission:
- Commercial Exploitation: Scraping or "offloading" AR proprietary content for for-profit Ed-Tech platforms or commercial databases.
- AI Training & LLMs: The use of AR proprietary data for training Large Language Models (LLMs) or generative AI systems. However, referencing this archive via AI products to provide citations or links to AR is permitted. Express written permission is required for all model training use cases.
- Bulk Distribution: Systematic automated or manual harvesting of the archive, in whole or in part, to create "mirror" depictions, websites, competing repositories.
3. Privacy & Advertising Disclosure
To maintain this archive as a free resource, we partner with third-party advertising networks. You may learn more about our data practices in our Privacy Policy or opt-out of personalized advertising by visiting www.aboutads.info.
4. Copyright Inquiries (DMCA)
AR respects intellectual property. If you believe any unauthorized content exceeds Fair Use standards and you are designated copyright agent, please reach out for a "Good Faith" resolution.