Terms & Conditions

1. About These Terms

These Terms apply to the Ottoman Research website, general website interactions, commissioned historical-research services and purchases made through the Heritage Shop. References to “Ottoman Research”, “we”, “us” and “our” mean the operator of this website and service under the Ottoman Research name.

Additional written terms may apply to a particular research project, quotation, order, digital product or other transaction. If a project-specific written agreement conflicts with these general Terms, the project-specific agreement will apply to that project to the extent of the conflict, subject always to rights that cannot lawfully be excluded.

2. Website Use

The website provides information about Ottoman Research, historical-research services, published Journal material, case studies and products offered through the Heritage Shop.

You must not interfere with website security or operation, attempt unauthorised access, introduce malicious code, misuse forms, submit unlawful material, scrape or reproduce protected content in breach of applicable rights, or use the site in a way that could damage the website or other users.

3. Historical and Editorial Information

Website, Journal and general informational content is provided for historical, educational and research-information purposes. It is not a case-specific research conclusion and does not constitute legal, immigration, tax, investment, valuation, medical or other regulated professional advice.

Historical interpretation depends on the surviving evidence, the quality of the available sources and the research question. Interpretations may be revised when further evidence becomes available.

4. Research Enquiries and Contract Formation

Commissioned research begins with a written enquiry. Submitting an enquiry does not guarantee that work will be accepted and does not by itself create a research contract.

Ottoman Research may review the information supplied, request clarification, assess whether the proposed work falls within the available service scope and, where appropriate, provide a written scope, quotation or project agreement.

5. Scope, Fees, Payment and Research Start

The agreed research question, scope, deliverables, fees, payment arrangements and any material project conditions will be set out in the relevant written quotation or agreement.

Research does not begin until the applicable written agreement and research-start requirements have been completed. Where consumer distance-contract rules apply and a client asks for a service to begin during a statutory cancellation period, any legally required express early-performance request or acknowledgement must be obtained separately.

Payment, invoice payment, scope acceptance, general correspondence or silence does not automatically replace any consent or acknowledgement that applicable law requires to be given expressly.

6. Research Scope, Evidence and Results

Research is limited to the agreed question, scope, time allocation and evidence reasonably available. No particular document, ancestor, family relationship, inheritance finding, ownership history, provenance chain, archival discovery, translation outcome or historical conclusion is guaranteed.

Archives and records may be incomplete, inaccessible, inconsistent, damaged, illegible, miscatalogued, restricted, dispersed across institutions or no longer surviving. Further information appears in the Research Disclaimer.

7. Client Information, Documents and Instructions

Clients should provide information that is relevant and, to the best of their knowledge, accurate. A client supplying a document, image, record, correspondence or other material should have a legitimate basis for providing it for the requested review or research.

Supplying material does not transfer ownership to Ottoman Research. Clients should avoid unnecessary sensitive information about living people. Ottoman Research may decline material or instructions where receipt, storage or proposed use appears inappropriate, unlawful or outside the agreed scope.

8. Research Deliverables and Intellectual Property

Research deliverables will be identified in the relevant written project scope. Any licence or transfer of rights in Ottoman Research-created reports, translations, research summaries, analysis, charts or other original work must be stated in the applicable project agreement.

No agreement transfers rights in third-party, archival, licensed or public-domain source material beyond the rights that the relevant rights-holder or applicable law permits.

9. Heritage Shop Orders

The Heritage Shop may offer physical products, historical reproductions, maps, templates, guides and digital products. Product descriptions, prices, taxes where applicable, delivery information and available payment options are shown on the relevant product and checkout pages.

Heritage Shop purchases are separate from commissioned research services. A retail order is subject to product availability, payment authorisation and acceptance. An order may be declined or cancelled before acceptance where, for example, the product is unavailable, payment cannot be authorised, a material pricing or description error is identified, or fulfilment would be unlawful.

Once a retail order has been accepted, the agreed price will not be increased retrospectively except where the customer expressly agrees to a lawful change.

10. Digital Products and Downloads

Digital products are supplied electronically in the format stated on the product page. Unless a product page expressly states otherwise, purchase provides a personal, non-exclusive, non-transferable licence to use the digital file for the purchaser’s own lawful purposes.

Digital files must not be resold, redistributed, publicly uploaded, commercially sublicensed or represented as the purchaser’s own original work unless the applicable product licence expressly permits that use.

Where a consumer chooses immediate access to digital content during a statutory cancellation period, checkout may require express consent to immediate supply and acknowledgement of the effect this has on the cancellation right before the download begins.

11. Delivery, Cancellation, Returns and Refunds

Where physical delivery is offered, available delivery methods, charges and estimated delivery information are presented during checkout. Delivery estimates are not guarantees unless a specific delivery commitment is expressly agreed.

Consumer cancellation and refund rights depend on the type of product or service and the circumstances of the transaction. Nothing in these Terms removes statutory rights concerning goods, services or digital content.

For commissioned research services, applicable cancellation information will be supplied as part of the relevant contracting process where required. If a consumer validly requests early performance and later cancels before full performance, a proportionate amount for work actually supplied may be payable where the applicable information and consent requirements have been satisfied.

Additional practical information is available in the Refund & Cancellation Policy.

12. External Services and Links

The website may rely on or link to third-party services such as hosting, payment, delivery, communications, archive catalogues or external research resources. A link or technical integration does not mean Ottoman Research controls or endorses all third-party content, availability, terms or privacy practices.

Where a third-party provider is involved in a transaction, its own terms may also apply to the part of the service it provides.

13. Site Content and Intellectual Property

Ottoman Research may own copyright or other rights in original website text, research writing, branding, layouts, graphics and original design elements. Historical material displayed on the website may be public domain, third-party, licensed or subject to separate rights.

Ottoman Research does not claim ownership of a public-domain historical work merely because it appears on the site, and no image licence or ownership is implied beyond the applicable source and rights position.

14. Liability and Mandatory Rights

Nothing in these Terms excludes or limits liability where exclusion or limitation would be unlawful. Nothing removes mandatory consumer rights, including rights that apply to goods, services or digital content under applicable law.

Subject to those mandatory rights, Ottoman Research is not responsible for losses caused solely by matters outside reasonable control, including archive closures, third-party access restrictions, record loss, third-party system failures or inaccurate information supplied by a client or external source.

Research limitations and evidential uncertainty do not remove the obligation to provide an agreed service with the standard of care required by applicable law and the project agreement.

15. Privacy and Confidentiality

Personal information is handled in accordance with the Privacy Policy. Research materials and client information are handled with appropriate discretion, subject to legal obligations and any disclosures reasonably required to deliver the agreed service.

Clients should not send unnecessary sensitive or confidential material before it is relevant to the enquiry or agreed project.

16. Governing Law

These Terms and contracts with Ottoman Research are governed by the law of England and Wales. For consumers, this choice does not remove mandatory protections that apply under relevant consumer law. Jurisdiction remains subject to legally applicable consumer protections, including protections relevant to a consumer’s place of residence.

17. Changes to These Terms

These Terms may be updated when website functions, research services, Heritage Shop arrangements, technologies or legal requirements change. Updated Terms apply from the date stated above and do not retrospectively alter an existing contract unless a lawful change is agreed or required.