Last Updated: 11 September 2023
Welcome to the MLA Style Center (“Center”), which is operated by the Modern Language Association (also referred to as “we,” “us,” and “the MLA”). The Center provides writing resources for scholars, students, practitioners, and other interested readers.
Please read these Terms of Service (“Terms”) carefully, because, together with the Center’s Privacy Statement, they constitute the sole agreement (“Agreement”) between you and the MLA governing your use of the Center. If you do not agree to these Terms, you are not authorized to use the Center. By using the Center, you confirm you have read, understand, and agree to these Terms. We may change these Terms by posting an updated version on the Center. The updated Terms will be effective immediately upon posting. If we decide that it is appropriate, we may provide additional notice of more significant changes. By continuing to use our Center after we post updated Terms, you agree to be bound by the updated Terms. Please check these Terms regularly so that you are aware of any changes.
Rights and Responsibilities Related to Content
The Center includes both User Content and MLA Content (collectively, “Center Content”). We respect intellectual property rights and expect users of our Center to do so as well. Center Content is protected by United States and international copyright. Users are permitted to use the Center Content as described below.
User Content
The Center allows users to to submit questions and comments and to submit resources for teaching and learning (collectively, “User Content”). Some User Content may need to meet additional requirements before posting. As an example, if you submit your teaching resources for potential publication on the Center and your resources are selected for publication, you will need to enter into a publication agreement with the MLA, which will then supersede these Terms concerning those resources.
If you provide any User Content, you are solely and entirely responsible for that User Content. You warrant and represent that: (i) you own, have acquired, or claim under the principle of fair use all the rights necessary to submit the User Content that you provide to the Center, including all the rights necessary for the MLA to reproduce, distribute, create derivatives works of, publicly display and perform, and otherwise make available the User Content as described in these Terms; (ii) your User Content does not and will not violate these Terms or any third party’s copyright, trademark, patent, trade secret, right to privacy or publicity, or any other proprietary, personal, or other right of any kind; (iii) you are under no obligation that would in any way interfere with or prohibit your disclosure or our use of the User Content you provide; (iv) your User Content contains no material or information furnished to you in confidence or with the understanding that it would not be disclosed or published; and (vi) you have identified any material in the User Content that was taken from another source.
License to the MLA
By posting or otherwise submitting User Content to the Center, except as expressly provided otherwise, you grant the MLA a nonexclusive, royalty-free, irrevocable, sublicenseable, worldwide license to use (and to permit the Center’s other Users to use) the User Content in connection with the Center’s educational mission and activities (or as otherwise stated in a separate agreement or on the Center), in all formats now known or later developed, including permission to reproduce, distribute, create derivative works of, publicly display and perform the User Content, and to incorporate the User Content into a collective work. You grant us the right, but agree we have no obligation, to attribute any User Content to you.
Our display of User Content does not mean that the MLA endorses or adopts it. We have no obligation to display or use any User Content in any way or to prescreen, monitor, modify, supplement, or delete User Content, but we may do so at any time without notice. We are not responsible for any failure or delay in removing User Content that does not comply with these Terms. We reserve the right to restrict you from submitting new User Content or from otherwise participating in the Center for any reason, including repeated submissions of User Content that does not comply with these Terms.
Release
You irrevocably release (on behalf of yourself and your successors, heirs, family members, and executors) the MLA (and its directors, officers, employees, agents, and affiliates) from any claim of any nature that you have or may ever have (based on any cause of action, including rights of publicity or privacy, trademark, copyright, libel, or defamation) arising out of the MLA’s use, as described in these Terms, of (i) User Content you provide and (ii) your name or likeness in connection with your User Content. If you are a California resident, you waive California Civil Code, section 1542, which says, “A general release does not extend to claims which the creditor does not know or suspect to exist in his or her favor at the time of executing the release, which if known by him or her must have materially affected his or her settlement with the debtor.” If you reside in any other jurisdiction that places similar restrictions on a general release, you waive those restrictions to the maximum extent permissible under the applicable law.
MLA Content
In addition to User Content, the Center includes content owned by the MLA and its licensors (“MLA Content”). MLA Content may be used as indicated on the Center for the particular MLA Content. Unless expressly prohibited, you may: (i) print any portion of the MLA Content for personal or classroom use; (ii) display the MLA Content on a screen or monitor for the purpose of face-to-face instruction in a classroom or face-to-face reference assistance in a library; or (iii) download resources that are expressly made available for download.
You must not remove or modify any copyright, trademark, or other notice on any MLA Content that you print or download.
If you wish to use MLA Content in a manner other than permitted above, you may seek permission to reprint or license MLA Content by sending your request to permissions@mla.org.
Guidelines for Participation
By visiting the Center and posting any User Content, you agree not to: (i) post any content or information that is unlawful, fraudulent, threatening, harassing, abusive, libelous, defamatory, obscene, or otherwise objectionable or that infringes on our or any third party’s intellectual property or other rights; (ii) post any material, nonpublic information (about companies or otherwise) without the authorization to do so; (iii) post any spam, advertisements, solicitations, chain letters, or other unsolicited commercial communication; (iv) remove any copyright, trademark, or other proprietary rights notices contained in the Center; (v) harvest or collect information about Center visitors; (vi) use the Center or any MLA or User Content for any unauthorized or unlawful purpose or otherwise violate any applicable laws, rules, or regulations in connection with your use of the Center; or (vii) use MLA Content for the development of any software program, including but not limited to training large language models (LLMs) and other artificial intelligence (AI) programs.
Unauthorized Activities; Reporting Violations or Concerns
MLA may bar any User’s access to the Center for any suspected or actual unauthorized use of the Center or any MLA or User Content.
If you have reason to believe that any User Content or activity on the Center violates these Terms or is illegal or inappropriate or to report any other abusive behavior in connection with the Center, please contact us by e-mail at agibson@mla.org or write to Angela Gibson, Director of Scholarly Communication, Modern Language Association, 85 Broad Street, New York, NY 10004.
If you believe that material located on the Center violates your copyright, you may notify us in accordance with the Digital Millennium Copyright Act (“DMCA”) procedures described below. For more information about intellectual property, the DMCA, and related legal issues, see the Electronic Frontier Foundation’s website at http://www.eff.org/issues/bloggers/legal/liability/IP.
If you believe that any material posted on the Center infringes your copyright, you may request the removal of those materials from the Center in accordance with the DMCA. A notice of infringing material that complies with the 17 USC, section 512(c)(3), of the DMCA (“Notice”) must be sent by e-mail to the agent we have designated with the Copyright Office: Angela Gibson, Director of Scholarly Communication, by e-mail to scholcomm@mla.org or by mail to Modern Language Association, 85 Broad Street, New York NY 10004.
DMCA Notice
To comply with the DMCA, your Notice must be in writing and include the following:
(1) A physical or electronic signature of the person authorized to act on behalf of the owner of an exclusive right that is allegedly infringed;
(2) Identification of the copyrighted work claimed to have been infringed, or, if multiple copyrighted works are covered by a single notification, a representative list of those works;
(3) Identification of the material that is claimed to be infringing or to be the subject of infringing activity and that is to be removed or access to which is to be disabled, and information reasonably sufficient to permit us to locate the material;
(4) Information reasonably sufficient to permit us to contact you, such as an address, telephone number, and, if available, an electronic mail address at which you may be contacted;
(5) A statement that you have a good-faith belief that use of the material in the manner complained of is not authorized by the copyright owner, its agent, or the law; and
(6) A statement that the information in the notification is accurate and made under penalty of perjury, and that you are the owner, or authorized to act on behalf of the owner, of an exclusive right that is allegedly infringed.
Please note that under United States Copyright Act, 17 USC, sections 101 and following, fair use permits certain reproductions of copyrighted works for the purposes of criticism, comment, news reporting, teaching, scholarship, and research, and the Copyright Act contains other limitations on the exclusive rights of copyright. Before you send any Notice, be sure that you have considered any statutory exceptions to the exclusive rights of copyright under 17 USC, sections 107–22.
When we receive a Notice that complies with the Copyright Act, we may remove the identified material and make a good-faith effort to inform the user who posted the allegedly infringing material (the “Alleged Infringer”) of the Notice and subsequent removal as soon as possible. The Alleged Infringer may then provide us with a counternotice (“Counternotice”) that the initial infringement notice was erroneous. The Counternotice must be in writing and must include:
(1) A physical or electronic signature of the Alleged Infringer;
(2) Identification of the material removed or to which access has been disabled and the location at which the material appeared before it was removed or access to it was disabled;
(3) A statement under penalty of perjury that the Alleged Infringer has a good-faith belief that the material was removed or access to it disabled as a result of error;
(4) The Alleged Infringer’s name, address, and telephone number; and
(5) A statement of consent to jurisdiction in federal district court and that the Alleged Infringer consents to service of process from the complaining party or its agent.
Upon receipt of a Counternotice, we will notify the sender of the Notice of the Counternotice and restore the material within ten to fourteen business days of receipt of the Counternotice, unless the sender of the Notice informs us within that period that it has filed an action seeking a court order to restrain the allegedly infringing party from engaging in infringing activity relating to the material on the Center.
Links to Third-Party websites
Our Center may contain links to websites controlled by third parties (“Third-Party websites”), whether provided by us or by other users. We are not responsible for Third-Party websites or their content or activities. Your use of Third-Party websites is governed by those sites’ terms of use and privacy policies. We make no representations or warranties whatsoever about the nature of Third-Party websites. By providing links to Third-Party websites, we do not guarantee, approve, or endorse the information, services, or products available at these sites, nor does a link indicate any association with or endorsement by the linked site.
Trademark Rights
“The Modern Language Association,” “MLA,” “MLA Commons,” “The MLA Style Center,” “Humanities Commons,” and all related trademarks, service marks, trade names, logos, and other indicia of source (collectively, “MLA Marks”) are the property of the MLA, and the MLA reserves all rights in the MLA Marks. You may not use the MLA Marks in any manner without the MLA’s written authorization. Additionally, you may not use the MLA Marks in connection with any product, service, opinion, cause, activity, or political candidate or in any manner that is likely to cause confusion among users about whether we are the source, sponsor, or endorser of a product, service, opinion, cause, activity, or political candidate.
Termination
These Terms will continue to apply until terminated either by you or the MLA in accordance with this Section.
We may terminate these Terms and your access to the Center at any time, at our sole discretion, without notice if we believe that you have violated these Terms or for other reasons that we determine in good faith are necessary or appropriate, including if we suspect you are using or attempting to use the Center in any way that violates these Terms or any applicable laws or regulations. You acknowledge that upon any termination of your account, we have the right, but not the obligation, to remove or discard your User Content.
All provisions of these Terms that by their nature should survive termination shall survive termination, including provisions relating to warranty disclaimers, indemnity, and limitations of liability.
Indemnity
You agree to indemnify, defend, and hold harmless the MLA and its directors, officers, employees, agents, contractors, licensors, and licensees (“Indemnified Parties”) against all liabilities, losses, damages, and costs (including reasonable attorneys’ fees) arising out of or relating to: (i) your use of the Center or any MLA or User Content or any breach of these Terms; (ii) any allegation that any User Content you submit infringes or otherwise violates the copyright, trademark, trade secret, or other intellectual property or other rights of any third party; or (iii) your activities in connection with the Center. Any Indemnified Party may, at its expense, assume the exclusive defense and control of any matter for which that Indemnified Party is entitled to indemnification, and you agree to provide it with whatever cooperation it reasonably requests.
No Warranties and Disclaimer of Liability
ALL USER CONTENT REPRESENTS THE VIEWS AND OPINIONS OF THE AUTHOR WHO IS SOLELY RESPONSIBLE FOR THE USER CONTENT. THE CENTER IS PROVIDED ON AN “AS IS” AND “AS AVAILABLE” BASIS. YOU AGREE THAT YOUR USE OF THE CENTER IS AT YOUR SOLE RISK. TO THE FULLEST EXTENT PERMITTED BY LAW, MLA DISCLAIMS ALL WARRANTIES, EXPRESS OR IMPLIED, IN CONNECTION WITH THE CENTER AND THE MLA CONTENT AND YOUR USE OF THEM. MLA MAKES NO WARRANTIES OR REPRESENTATIONS OF ANY KIND ABOUT THE ACCURACY, COMPLETENESS, OR NONINFRINGEMENT OF THE CENTER OR ANY MLA CONTENT AND ASSUMES NO LIABILITY OR RESPONSIBILITY FOR ANY: (i) ERRORS, MISTAKES, OR INACCURACIES; (ii) ANY UNAUTHORIZED ACCESS TO OR USE OF THE CENTER; (iii) ANY INABILITY TO ACCESS OR USE THE CENTER; (iv) ANY HARM OR DAMAGES ARISING FROM ANY MLA OR USER CONTENT ON THE CENTER; (v) ANY BUGS, VIRUSES, TROJAN HORSES, OTHER MALICIOUS CODE THAT MAY BE TRANSMITTED TO OR THROUGH THE CENTER; AND (vi) ANY ERRORS OR OMISSIONS IN ANY MLA OR USER CONTENT OR FOR ANY LOSS OR DAMAGE OF ANY KIND YOU INCUR IN CONNECTION WITH USER THE CENTER OR ANY MLA OR USER CONTENT
UNDER NO CIRCUMSTANCES WILL THE MLA OR ITS DIRECTORS, OFFICERS, EMPLOYEES, AGENTS, OR AFFILIATES BE LIABLE FOR: (i) ANY INDIRECT, INCIDENTAL, CONSEQUENTIAL, SPECIAL, PUNITIVE, OR EXEMPLARY DAMAGES (INCLUDING LOST REVENUES OR PROFITS, LOSS OF BUSINESS, OR LOSS OF DATA) ARISING OUT OF OR IN CONNECTION WITH THESE TERMS OR YOUR USE OF THE CENTER OR ANY MLA OR USER CONTENT, REGARDLESS OF THE THEORY OF LIABILITY, WHETHER TORT (INCLUDING NEGLIGENCE), CONTRACT, OR ANY OTHER LEGAL OR EQUITABLE THEORY; OR (ii) ANY AMOUNTS UNDER THESE TERMS OR IN CONNECTION WITH YOUR USE OF THE CENTER OR ANY MLA OR USER CONTENT THAT EXCEEDS AN AGGREGATE AMOUNT OF $100. SOME STATES DO NOT ALLOW THE LIMITATION OF LIABILITY FOR THESE KINDS OF DAMAGES, SO THESE LIMITATIONS OR EXCLUSIONS MAY NOT APPLY TO YOU.
General
Entire Agreement. These Terms, which include our Privacy Statement {link to same as above}, constitute the complete agreement between you and the MLA regarding your use of the Center and supersede all prior (oral or written) understandings or agreements regarding its subject matter. As noted, in some cases, these terms may be supplemented or superseded by a separate publishing agreement.
Governing Law; Venue. These Terms are governed by the laws of the State of New York applicable to agreements wholly made and performed in New York, unless doing so would lead to the application of the laws of another jurisdiction. You irrevocably agree: (i) to bring any claim or dispute relating to your use of the Center or any MLA or User Content and these Terms exclusively in the state and federal courts located in the State and County of New York, (ii) to submit to the personal jurisdiction of those courts, and (iii) to waive any objection based on an inconvenient forum or other reasons regarding the jurisdiction or venue of those courts.
Severability; Assignment; Waiver; Including. If a court of competent jurisdiction determines that any provision of these Terms is unenforceable for any reason, then that provision will be revised to the extent necessary to make it enforceable and reflect the intent of these Terms, or, if that is not possible, it will be deleted and the remaining provisions will be enforceable to the fullest extent permitted by law (unless doing so would deprive either party of a material benefit of these Terms). You may not assign or delegate your rights or privileges under these Terms, and any attempt to do so is null and void. The MLA’s waiver of any provision or breach of these Terms must be in writing and a waiver in one circumstance will not be considered a waiver in another circumstances, whether similar or different. The word “including” in these Terms is illustrative and means “including, but not limited to.”
If you have questions or comments about these Terms, including the Privacy Statement, please direct them to Terry Callaghan, Director of Administration and Finance, at tcallaghan@mla.org.