Terms of Use

The Social History Archive

www.thesocialhistoryarchive.com and www.findmypast.co.uk are sites operated by Findmypast Limited which is part of the D.C. Thomson & Company Limited group (“Findmypast”, "we" or “us”). Findmypast Limited is a limited liability company registered in England and Wales (company number 4369607) having its registered office at 185 Fleet Street, London, England, EC4A 2HS. Our VAT registration number is 426 9170 84.

This document sets out the terms of use on which you may make use of our websites www.thesocialhistoryarchive.com and www.findmypast.co.uk (“our Sites”).

Please read these terms of use (“Terms”) carefully before you start to use the Site. By using our Site, you accept these Terms and you agree to abide by them. If you do not agree to these Terms, please do not use our Site, however note that use of the Site will constitute acceptance of these Terms regardless of whether you agree with them.

Eligibility

Our services are intended for use by institutions and individuals in the academic community. By agreeing to these Terms, you warrant, confirm and represent that you are at least 18 years old.

Licence to Use Services

Subject to these Terms, Findmypast grants you a non-exclusive, non-transferable, limited licence to access and use our primary source content for research, teaching, and private study purposes only. Any other use of the content without prior written permission from Findmypast is strictly prohibited.

Intellectual Property Rights

All copyright, database rights, trademarks and design rights (“Intellectual Property”) in our Sites and in the material published on it belong to us and our licensors. Those works are protected by copyright laws and treaties around the world. All such rights are reserved.

You may print off one copy, and may download extracts, of any page(s) from our Sites for your personal reference and you may draw the attention of others within your organisation to material posted on our Site.

Unless permission has been specifically granted in writing by The Social History Archive, you may not use, attempt to use, or permit the use of any software tools or products, automated or otherwise, (including, but not limited to, any screen scraper, spider or other web crawler) to access website material, records, other content (including, but not limited to, metadata) or to search, copy, monitor, display or obtain links to any part of the website for any purpose whatsoever.

You must not modify the paper or digital copies of any materials you have printed off or downloaded in any way, and you must not use any illustrations, photographs, video or audio sequences or any graphics separately from any accompanying text.

Our status as the authors of material on our Sites must always be acknowledged by using the following copyright notice: © [year] Findmypast Limited. The status of any identified contributors must also be acknowledged.

You must not use any part of the materials on our Sites for commercial purposes without obtaining a licence to do so from us or our licensors.

You may not reproduce, copy or redistribute the design or layout of our Site, individual elements of our Site’s design, or any trademarks or logos of Findmypast or The Social History Archive without the express written permission of Findmypast.

If you print off, copy or download any part of our Sites in breach of these terms of use, your right to use our Sites will cease immediately and you must, at our option, return or destroy any copies of the materials you have made.

User Responsibilities

You must ensure that your use of our content and services does not infringe on the rights of others and complies with all applicable laws, including copyright laws. You are responsible for securing the necessary rights from the content owners if you wish to use the content for purposes beyond the scope of the license granted by these Terms.

Prohibited Activities

You are prohibited from using our services to engage in any unlawful activity, infringe upon the rights of others, or disrupt the operation of our services. This includes, but is not limited to, unauthorized copying or distribution of content, using the content to create database products or services that are then resold, and accessing the service via automated means without prior permission.

Disclaimer of Warranties

Our services are provided "as is" without warranty of any kind, express or implied. Findmypast disclaims all warranties, including, but not limited to, the implied warranties of merchantability, fitness for a particular purpose, and non-infringement.

Limitation of Liability

Findmypast shall not be liable for any indirect, incidental, special, consequential, or punitive damages resulting from the use of or inability to use our services, even if Findmypast has been advised of the possibility of such damages.

Indemnification

You agree to indemnify, defend, and hold harmless Findmypast and its officers, directors, employees, agents, licensors, and suppliers from and against all losses, expenses, damages, and costs, including reasonable attorneys’ fees, resulting from any violation of these Terms or any activity related to your account (including negligent or wrongful conduct) by you or any other person accessing the service using your account.

Changes to Terms

Findmypast reserves the right to modify these Terms at any time. We will notify users of any changes by posting the new Terms on our site. Your continued use of the services after any such changes constitutes your acceptance of the new Terms.

Governing Law

These Terms shall be governed by and construed in accordance with English law. Any dispute arising under or related to these Terms shall be resolved exclusively in the courts of England and Wales.