1. The rule is not “unknown means free”
Some individual words, titles, slogans, and short phrases do not contain enough authorship for U.S. copyright protection. That does not create a blanket rule for every quotation. A longer passage can be protected, and an anonymous or unidentified author does not automatically place a work in the public domain. Anonymous works can remain protected for a statutory term.
The U.S. Copyright Office also explains that fair use depends on all the circumstances; there is no fixed number of words or percentage that is always safe. The catalogue therefore uses source, age, work type, length, context, and purpose together rather than relying on a slogan about “free quotes.”
2. Rights labels used by the catalogue
- public_domain
- The cited work is treated as outside copyright protection, usually because its term expired.
- us_government_work
- The quoted material was created by a U.S. federal employee as part of official duties and is treated under 17 U.S.C. § 105.
- third_party_excerpt
- A limited excerpt from a work that may still be protected, shown with source and contextual information for attribution, commentary, and discovery.
- user_submitted
- Material provided with a rights attestation and reviewed before publication.
- unknown
- Rights have not been established. These records are not publishable under the catalogue guard.
Attribution confidence is separate. “Traditional,” “unverified,” “disputed,” or “misattributed” describes the evidence about authorship, not permission to reproduce a work.
3. Source and excerpt practices
- Traceable records link to the cited work or an authoritative transcript whenever practical.
- Modern third-party material is limited to brief prose excerpts and is not accepted merely because it appears on another quote site.
- Song lyrics and poetry are not accepted through the normal excerpt path.
- Contested or corrected attributions carry a note instead of silently presenting certainty.
- A source-verification check confirms that cited words appear at the cited location; editorial review still determines whose words they are.
4. Motivational quotes and Bible passages
A quote being motivational, widely shared, or listed on another quote site does not establish permission to reproduce it. We prioritize traceable original works and public-domain material. Automated collection must follow the source’s access rules, preserve attribution, and pass the catalogue’s source and rights review before publication.
Bible records identify the translation and passage reference so you can check the wording in context. Ancient scripture and a modern translation can have different rights: we do not assume all Bible translations are free to reproduce. This catalogue includes the World English Bible (WEB) and King James Version (KJV). The WEB publisher makes the World English Bible text available in the public domain and asks that its name be used only for a faithful copy of that translation. Other translations require their own rights assessment.
Project Gutenberg identifies the King James Version as public domain in the United States. Rights in the Authorized Version in the United Kingdom are vested in the Crown. Reuse there is subject to the applicable Crown rights and permissions, rather than a worldwide public-domain assumption. See Cambridge’s KJV rights notice.
5. Report an error or rights concern
Send a notice to the contact listed in our Terms with the quotation, its page URL or database identifier, the basis for the request, your name and contact information, relevant source or ownership evidence, and the change you request. Please state whether the issue concerns attribution, privacy, copyright, trademark, or another right.
Just Brands, LLC will acknowledge and review a sufficiently detailed notice. Filing a notice does not automatically hide a record; preservation, correction, source replacement, annotation, restriction, or removal will depend on the evidence and applicable law. Knowingly false or abusive notices may be rejected.
For a copyright infringement notice, also identify the copyrighted work and the material you want removed, provide your mailing address and telephone number, and include your physical or electronic signature. State that you have a good-faith belief that the use is not authorized by the copyright owner, its agent, or law, and that your notice is accurate and, under penalty of perjury, you are the owner or authorized to act for the owner. Send notices to the contact listed in our Terms or to Just Brands, LLC, Attention: Copyright, at the mailing address above.
If material you submitted was removed in error, contact the same address with the record involved and your supporting evidence so we can review the decision. We may share the relevant claim details with the affected contributor or rights holder to resolve the issue. Please include only information necessary to assess the claim.