Project Gutenberg License

The Project Gutenberg License is a set of conditions governing access to and distribution of covered electronic works. The cited provisions link a work’s presentation to notice of the license, require the license terms to remain attached to the work, qualify when fees may be charged, and describe a limited refund right for a defect discovered within a specified period. Together, these clauses address both the information accompanying a work and the conditions under which it may be circulated or sold.

Notice and Access

One provision applies when a work on which the phrase Project Gutenberg appears, or with which it is associated, is accessed, displayed, performed, viewed, copied, or distributed. Unless all references to Project Gutenberg have been removed, the specified sentence must appear prominently, along with active links to or other immediate access to the full license. The requirement thus connects notice not just to downloading or copying, but to several ways a work may be encountered or used.

The notice identifies the eBook as available at no cost and with almost no restrictions, while directing users to the license terms included with it. The two parts work together: the concise statement communicates broad availability, and access to the full license supplies the terms that qualify that statement. The clause calls for the notice to be prominent, so it is not framed merely as information that may be left somewhere in an accompanying file or made available only on request. Its stated condition also matters: the notice requirement described here is tied to the continued presence or association of Project Gutenberg references.

Keeping the License with the Work

A separate provision prohibits unlinking, detaching, or removing the full license terms from the work, from files containing part of the work, or from other files associated with it. This is a preservation requirement rather than simply a direction to display a notice at a particular point of access. The notice clause addresses what users should see when a covered work is used; the retention clause addresses whether the governing terms remain with the work and its related files as those materials circulate.

Read together, these provisions make the license more than a one-time introductory statement. The specified notice is to provide access to the full terms, while the prohibition on detachment preserves those terms alongside the work or associated material. The text expressly covers files containing only part of a work as well as other files associated with it, extending the retention rule beyond a single complete eBook file.

Fees and Distribution

The cited fee provision says that users may not charge for access to, viewing, displaying, performing, copying, or distributing Project Gutenberg works unless they comply with the subsequent conditions identified in the license. The rule therefore names multiple forms of access and use rather than limiting its scope to the sale of a physical or digital copy. Its wording makes the default prohibition conditional: charging is not described as categorically impossible, but it is allowed only through compliance with the specified exceptions or requirements.

The next cited clause begins to describe one such permitted circumstance, allowing a reasonable fee for copies of, access to, or distribution of electronic works, provided that the stated conditions are met. The supplied provision refers onward to additional requirements, so it does not establish that any fee, or any distribution arrangement, automatically qualifies. The paired clauses distinguish the general restriction from a qualified permission and leave the qualification dependent on compliance with the license’s further terms.

Limited Remedy for Defects

The cited remedy provides a limited right of replacement or refund if a defect in the electronic work is discovered within 90 days of receipt. It allows a refund of any amount paid by sending a notice as directed in the provision. The time limit and the reference to money paid define the remedy’s stated boundaries: it concerns a defect found within the specified period and a refund of a payment, if there was one.

This remedy sits alongside the distribution conditions but serves a different purpose. The notice, retention, and fee provisions govern how the work and its license terms are presented and circulated; the defect provision addresses a recipient’s options after discovering a problem. The cited text identifies the period, the possible refund, and the requirement to send notice, but does not by itself set out every step or condition of the full procedure.