Effective Date: August 1, 2026
Last Updated: August 18, 2026

This Contributor Agreement (“Agreement”) governs story ideas, pitches, articles, photographs, graphics, commentary, analysis, and other editorial material submitted to The American Quorum, a publication of 1693 Scholars, LLC (“TAQ,” “The American Quorum,” “Company,” “we,” “us,” or “our”).

This Agreement applies to every person who agrees to it and submits qualifying material for possible publication (“Contributor,” “you,” or “your”), including purchasers or holders of The Founding Contributor membership.

By:

· purchasing or renewing a membership expressly subject to this Agreement;

· checking a box indicating agreement;

· submitting material after accepting this Agreement; or

· otherwise affirmatively agreeing electronically,

you acknowledge that you have read, understand, and agree to be legally bound by this Agreement.

This Agreement supplements TAQ’s Terms of Use and Privacy Policy.

If this Agreement conflicts with the Terms of Use regarding a contributor submission, this Agreement controls concerning that contributor relationship and submission.

1. EDITORIAL RELATIONSHIP

TAQ is an independent news and media publication.

All Contributor participation is subject to TAQ’s:

· editorial judgment;

· journalistic standards;

· fact-checking practices;

· legal requirements;

· ethics policies;

· style requirements; and

· editorial discretion.

Nothing in this Agreement obligates TAQ to solicit, accept, edit, publish, retain, promote, syndicate, or continue displaying a submission.

TAQ retains sole and absolute editorial discretion over what it publishes.

2. CONTRIBUTOR MEMBERSHIP DOES NOT PURCHASE PUBLICATION

A paid membership providing Contributor privileges gives you the opportunity to submit qualifying material for editorial consideration.

A membership fee does not purchase publication.

Payment does not guarantee:

· acceptance;

· publication;

· assignment;

· a byline;

· a minimum number of published articles;

· priority over another writer;

· compensation;

· favorable editorial treatment;

· favorable coverage;

· a particular publication date;

· prominent placement;

· continued Contributor status; or

· editorial influence.

Editorial decisions will be made independently of the membership fee paid.

Rejection, postponement, editing, removal, correction, or nonpublication does not entitle the Contributor to a membership refund except where applicable law expressly requires otherwise.

3. NO EMPLOYMENT OR AGENCY

Unless TAQ separately agrees in writing, Contributor status does not create:

· employment;

· agency;

· partnership;

· joint venture;

· fiduciary status;

· staff status;

· ownership; or

· authority to represent TAQ.

You may not:

· bind TAQ;

· enter agreements for TAQ;

· incur expenses for TAQ;

· promise publication;

· promise favorable coverage;

· promise confidentiality on behalf of TAQ without authorization;

· represent yourself as a TAQ employee;

· speak as an authorized corporate spokesperson; or

· make commitments in TAQ’s name.

A byline identifies authorship of a particular published work and does not itself establish employment or staff status.

4. SUBMITTED MATERIAL

“Submitted Material” includes any:

· story idea;

· pitch;

· topic;

· article;

· essay;

· analysis;

· commentary;

· review;

· photograph;

· illustration;

· graphic;

· chart;

· audio;

· video;

· recording;

· data;

· research;

· document;

· caption;

· headline suggestion;

· biography;

· source suggestion; or

· other material

provided to TAQ for editorial consideration.

5. STORY IDEAS, PITCHES, CONCEPTS, AND LEADS

Accordingly, by submitting any story idea, topic, lead, concept, theme, proposed angle, research suggestion, source suggestion, or other non-copyrightable concept to TAQ, you expressly acknowledge and agree that TAQ may, without obligation to you:

· consider it;

· investigate it;

· develop it;

· modify it;

· combine it with other material;

· independently research it;

· assign it to another writer;

· assign it to a staff member;

· use different sources;

· pursue a different angle;

· publish resulting journalism; or

· decline to use it.

Unless TAQ expressly agrees otherwise in writing before submission, submitting an idea does not create:

· confidentiality;

· exclusivity;

· ownership of the underlying subject;

· an assignment to the submitting person;

· a right to write the resulting story;

· a right to attribution;

· a right to compensation; or

· a publication commitment.

Submission of an idea does not prevent TAQ from developing the same or a similar story independently or through another person.

6. ORIGINALITY AND RIGHTS

For every submission, you represent and warrant that:

1. you created the Submitted Material or possess all rights necessary to submit it;

2. the submission is original except for material appropriately quoted, licensed, attributed, or lawfully used;

3. the submission does not contain plagiarism;

4. you have not knowingly copied protected material without permission or lawful justification;

5. you have disclosed any material prior publication;

6. you possess appropriate rights to photographs, graphics, recordings, or other material you supply;

7. publication will not knowingly violate an agreement binding upon you; and

8. you will promptly inform TAQ if you discover that a representation in this Agreement may be inaccurate.

7. ACCURACY AND JOURNALISTIC INTEGRITY

You agree to exercise reasonable care and diligence.

To the best of your knowledge after reasonable inquiry:

· factual statements presented as fact must have a reasonable factual basis;

· quotations must be accurately represented;

· quotations may not be materially altered to create a misleading meaning;

· statistics and data must be accurately characterized;

· sources may not be fabricated;

· documents may not be fabricated;

· evidence may not be knowingly manipulated;

· events may not be invented;

· identities or credentials may not be knowingly misrepresented; and

· material context may not knowingly be omitted for the purpose of creating a materially false impression.

You must promptly inform TAQ of a material factual error discovered before or after publication.

8. FACT-CHECKING AND SUPPORTING MATERIAL

TAQ may request material supporting factual claims, including:

· research;

· citations;

· public records;

· data;

· source documents;

· interview notes;

· recordings;

· correspondence;

· photographs;

· links; and

· other evidence.

You agree to reasonably cooperate with editorial and fact-checking review.

Unless legally prohibited or otherwise authorized by TAQ, you should retain material supporting published work for at least 24 months following publication.

9. SOURCES AND CONFIDENTIALITY

You may not promise:

· confidentiality;

· anonymity;

· off-the-record treatment;

· embargo terms;

· source protection; or

· other special handling

on behalf of TAQ without authorization from an appropriate TAQ editor.

If a submission materially depends on an anonymous or confidential source, you must disclose that circumstance to TAQ before publication and cooperate with reasonable verification.

TAQ will determine whether anonymous-source material is suitable for publication and under what conditions.

Nothing in this Agreement waives legally available:

· reporter’s privilege;

· shield-law protection;

· First Amendment protection; or

· other newsgathering protections.

10. CONFLICTS OF INTEREST

You must disclose any material relationship that could reasonably affect your independence or credibility regarding a proposed contribution.

Relevant relationships may include connections to:

· employers;

· former employers;

· clients;

· competitors;

· companies discussed;

· individuals discussed;

· political organizations;

· political campaigns;

· advocacy organizations;

· nonprofit entities;

· investments;

· financial interests;

· products; or

· services.

TAQ may:

· disclose the relationship to readers;

· request additional sourcing;

· alter the assignment;

· reject the submission; or

· terminate Contributor privileges.

Failure to disclose a material conflict may result in correction, removal, or termination.

11. NO UNDISCLOSED ADVERTISING OR ADVOCACY

Contributor privileges may not be used to obtain favorable editorial coverage for:

· yourself;

· your employer;

· your clients;

· your business;

· your investments;

· your products;

· political interests;

· advocacy interests; or

· another person or organization with whom you have a material relationship.

Submitted journalism may not contain undisclosed:

· advertising;

· paid promotion;

· public-relations material;

· lobbying;

· affiliate promotion;

· sponsored material; or

· advocacy undertaken for compensation.

Relevant relationships must be disclosed to TAQ.

12. DEFAMATION, PRIVACY, AND THIRD-PARTY RIGHTS

You represent and warrant, to the best of your knowledge after reasonable inquiry, that material you provide does not knowingly:

· contain materially false defamatory statements;

· unlawfully invade privacy;

· unlawfully disclose legally protected confidential information;

· unlawfully appropriate another person’s name or likeness;

· infringe copyright;

· infringe trademark;

· violate enforceable nondisclosure obligations; or

· otherwise violate applicable law.

You must disclose any significant known legal threat, demand, cease-and-desist communication, prior dispute, or confidentiality issue associated with the submission.

13. ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE AND AUTOMATED TOOLS

You remain personally responsible for everything submitted under your name regardless of whether artificial intelligence or automated technology assisted with its preparation.

You must comply with any TAQ AI policy then in effect.

When requested, you must disclose material use of generative artificial intelligence.

You may not knowingly submit:

· fabricated AI-generated quotations;

· fabricated citations;

· nonexistent sources;

· invented statistics represented as genuine;

· synthetic images represented as documentary photographs;

· unverified AI-generated factual claims represented as fact; or

· material copied through an AI system without appropriate legal rights.

TAQ may reject or remove material because of inappropriate or undisclosed AI use.

14. EDITORIAL CONTROL

TAQ has final editorial control over accepted material.

TAQ may:

· edit;

· copyedit;

· fact-check;

· shorten;

· reorganize;

· excerpt;

· format;

· retitle;

· write or revise headlines;

· write summaries;

· add subheads;

· choose images;

· change formatting;

· add links;

· add disclosures;

· add editor’s notes;

· clarify language;

· adapt material for another format;

· create newsletters;

· create audio versions;

· create promotional excerpts;

· translate;

· update;

· annotate;

· correct; and

· otherwise prepare material for publication.

TAQ will endeavor not to knowingly alter the fundamental meaning of a Contributor’s factual statements through editing.

Unless separately agreed in writing, TAQ is not required to obtain Contributor approval of:

· ordinary edits;

· headlines;

· illustrations;

· photographs;

· placement;

· excerpts;

· social promotion;

· newsletter presentation;

· audio production; or

· publication timing.

15. CORRECTIONS, RETRACTIONS, AND REMOVAL

TAQ retains sole discretion over:

· corrections;

· clarifications;

· updates;

· editor’s notes;

· retractions;

· archival treatment;

· restrictions;

· removal; and

· restoration of published Content.

You agree to reasonably cooperate in investigating potential errors.

You do not have an automatic right to require removal of published Content.

TAQ may preserve previous versions and editorial records where reasonably necessary for:

· journalism;

· historical records;

· legal purposes;

· security;

· documentation; or

· dispute resolution.

16. COPYRIGHT OWNERSHIP — WORK MADE FOR HIRE

For copyrightable material specially ordered or commissioned by TAQ and accepted for publication, the parties intend, to the maximum extent legally applicable, that the material constitute a work made for hire for 1693 Scholars, LLC, doing business as The American Quorum, with 1693 Scholars, LLC deemed the author and copyright owner.

This provision applies only to the extent applicable law permits work-made-for-hire treatment.

The assignment provisions below apply independently and are not dependent upon a work qualifying as a work made for hire.

17. COPYRIGHT ASSIGNMENT TO TAQ

For any copyrightable Submitted Material that is:

· commissioned by TAQ;

· expressly accepted by TAQ for publication; or

· published by TAQ,

and to the extent the material is not legally treated as a work made for hire, Contributor hereby irrevocably assigns, transfers, conveys, and grants to 1693 Scholars, LLC all right, title, and interest worldwide in and to that material, including all copyrights and exclusive rights associated with the work.

The assignment includes, to the fullest extent legally transferable, rights of:

· reproduction;

· publication;

· republication;

· distribution;

· display;

· performance;

· editing;

· adaptation;

· translation;

· syndication;

· licensing;

· serialization;

· compilation;

· derivative works;

· audio production;

· audiovisual production;

· digital distribution;

· archival use;

· promotional use;

· database use; and

· other exploitation in media now known or later developed.

TAQ owns the accepted or published work outright, subject only to rights that applicable law does not permit the Contributor to transfer.

18. REJECTED FULL-LENGTH SUBMISSIONS

Unless a work was commissioned by TAQ or another written agreement provides otherwise, TAQ does not claim copyright ownership of a complete copyrightable manuscript merely because it was submitted and rejected without publication.

TAQ may retain a review copy for reasonable editorial, legal, security, and recordkeeping purposes.

This provision does not restrict TAQ’s rights concerning:

· underlying ideas;

· topics;

· concepts;

· leads;

· story angles;

· independently obtained information; or

· independently developed journalism

as described elsewhere in this Agreement.

19. TAQ’S EXCLUSIVE CONTROL OF OWNED CONTENT

For Content owned by TAQ under this Agreement, TAQ has the exclusive right to:

· edit;

· revise;

· reproduce;

· publish;

· republish;

· distribute;

· license;

· sublicense;

· syndicate;

· translate;

· excerpt;

· retitle;

· combine with other material;

· adapt;

· archive;

· remove;

· restore;

· sell;

· commercially exploit;

· create audio versions;

· create audiovisual versions;

· create compilations;

· create derivative works; and

· otherwise use the Content

in any medium or format now known or later developed.

Unless TAQ grants permission in writing, the Contributor retains no independent right to:

· republish;

· license;

· sell;

· syndicate; or

· commercially exploit

Content owned by TAQ.

TAQ may, in its discretion, grant the Contributor permission to link to, excerpt, display, or republish particular work.

20. MORAL RIGHTS

To the maximum extent permitted by applicable law, Contributor waives and agrees not to assert against TAQ any:

· moral rights;

· droit moral;

· rights of attribution;

· rights of integrity; or

· analogous rights

in material owned by TAQ under this Agreement.

Where such rights cannot legally be waived, Contributor consents to TAQ’s exercise of the editorial, adaptation, publication, and exploitation rights granted by this Agreement to the maximum extent permitted by law.

21. FURTHER ASSURANCES

Contributor agrees to execute or electronically confirm reasonable additional documents necessary to:

· evidence TAQ’s ownership;

· register copyright;

· record ownership;

· perfect rights;

· enforce rights; or

· defend TAQ’s ownership

in Content transferred under this Agreement.

Failure to execute an additional confirmation does not invalidate an assignment that became effective under this Agreement to the extent applicable law provides otherwise.

22. BYLINE, NAME, IMAGE, AND BIOGRAPHY

TAQ may use your:

· name;

· byline;

· approved biography;

· professional title;

· organizational affiliation;

· photograph;

· headshot;

· likeness; and

· relevant publicly associated professional information

in connection with:

· publication;

· attribution;

· archiving;

· promotion;

· distribution; and

· marketing of published Content.

TAQ may continue identifying you as the author of previously published work after the Contributor relationship ends.

23. AUDIO AND ALTERNATIVE FORMATS

TAQ may create:

· narrated versions;

· text-to-speech versions;

· audio articles;

· accessibility versions;

· translations;

· summaries;

· excerpts;

· newsletter versions;

· mobile versions;

· social-media adaptations; and

· other editorial formats

of TAQ-owned Content.

TAQ may use human, automated, or artificial-intelligence-assisted technology to produce these formats.

24. COMPENSATION

Unless TAQ separately agrees in writing to pay for a specific assignment, submissions are provided without compensation.

Contributor is not entitled to:

· salary;

· wages;

· royalties;

· residuals;

· licensing revenue;

· syndication payments;

· advertising revenue;

· employee benefits; or

· expense reimbursement

merely because TAQ considers, edits, publishes, distributes, licenses, or promotes a submission.

A Founding Contributor membership fee is a charge paid to TAQ for the benefits of that membership. It is not payment by TAQ for Content.

25. NO FINAL APPROVAL RIGHT

Unless expressly agreed in writing, Contributor has no contractual right of approval over:

· headlines;

· editing;

· layout;

· images;

· publication timing;

· placement;

· promotional language;

· social-media treatment;

· newsletter treatment;

· audio production;

· corrections;

· updates; or

· surrounding editorial context.

TAQ may seek Contributor input as a professional courtesy without creating an approval right.

26. CONTRIBUTOR CONDUCT

TAQ may suspend or terminate Contributor privileges for conduct materially inconsistent with TAQ’s standards, including:

· plagiarism;

· fabrication;

· knowingly false attribution;

· undisclosed material conflicts;

· material factual misrepresentation;

· fraudulent credentials;

· misuse of TAQ’s name;

· unauthorized promises to sources;

· copyright infringement;

· repeated editorial-guideline violations;

· harassment;

· abuse of source relationships; or

· conduct creating material legal or reputational risk.

Termination does not require TAQ to remove previously published Content.

27. EXPENSES

TAQ is not responsible for expenses incurred by a Contributor unless an authorized TAQ representative approves them in writing in advance.

This includes:

· travel;

· photography;

· research fees;

· database fees;

· public-record fees;

· equipment;

· communications expenses; and

· other costs.

28. CONTRIBUTOR INDEMNIFICATION

To the maximum extent permitted by applicable law, Contributor agrees to defend, indemnify, and hold harmless:

· 1693 Scholars, LLC;

· The American Quorum;

· affiliated entities;

· founders;

· owners;

· members;

· managers;

· officers;

· employees;

· editors;

· writers;

· contributors;

· contractors;

· agents;

· representatives;

· successors; and

· assigns

from third-party claims, proceedings, liabilities, judgments, losses, settlements, damages, penalties, expenses, and reasonable attorneys’ fees arising from or relating to:

1. Contributor’s material breach of this Agreement;

2. materially false representations or warranties by Contributor;

3. plagiarism contained in material Contributor supplied;

4. infringement contained in material Contributor supplied;

5. Contributor’s lack of rights that Contributor represented having;

6. fabrication or knowing falsification by Contributor;

7. undisclosed material conflicts of interest;

8. Contributor’s unlawful conduct in obtaining Submitted Material;

9. Contributor’s violation of another person’s privacy or confidentiality rights through material supplied to TAQ; or

10. unauthorized promises, representations, or commitments purportedly made by Contributor on behalf of TAQ.

TAQ may assume control of the defense of a covered claim.

Contributor agrees to reasonably cooperate.

Contributor may not settle a claim in a manner imposing liability, obligations, admissions, or restrictions upon a TAQ Party without TAQ’s written approval.

Nothing in this provision requires indemnification prohibited by law.

29. TERMS OF USE AND DISPUTE RESOLUTION

TAQ’s generally applicable provisions concerning:

· warranty disclaimers;

· limitations of liability;

· releases;

· arbitration;

· jury-trial waiver;

· class-action waiver;

· governing law;

· venue;

· dispute resolution; and

· other protections

contained in TAQ’s Terms of Use are incorporated into this Agreement by reference.

A valid arbitration opt-out previously exercised in accordance with the Terms of Use remains effective according to its terms.

30. PRIVACY

TAQ processes Contributor information according to its Privacy Policy and applicable law.

Information intended for publication or attribution, including:

· name;

· biography;

· professional title;

· affiliation;

· photograph; and

· byline

may be publicly displayed.

Editorial records may be retained for legitimate editorial, legal, security, and recordkeeping purposes.

31. TERM AND TERMINATION

This Agreement begins when you accept it and continues until terminated.

Either party may end the prospective Contributor relationship at any time.

Termination does not:

· require TAQ to remove previously published Content;

· transfer TAQ-owned copyright back to Contributor;

· terminate intellectual-property rights already acquired by TAQ;

· invalidate representations or warranties concerning earlier submissions;

· eliminate accrued obligations; or

· extinguish provisions intended to survive.

Provisions concerning:

· copyright ownership;

· intellectual property;

· publication rights;

· attribution;

· confidentiality;

· warranties;

· indemnification;

· dispute resolution;

· corrections; and

· other provisions intended by their nature to continue

survive termination.

32. ELECTRONIC ACCEPTANCE

The parties agree that this Agreement may be formed and accepted electronically.

Contributor’s affirmative action, including:

· checking an agreement checkbox;

· completing purchase of a membership expressly conditioned upon this Agreement;

· clicking an acceptance control; or

· another electronically attributable affirmative act

is intended to constitute Contributor’s electronic acceptance and electronic signature to the maximum extent permitted by applicable law.

The parties intend an electronically retained copy of this Agreement to constitute a written record of the Agreement.

33. COPYRIGHT ASSIGNMENT ACKNOWLEDGMENT

By accepting this Agreement, Contributor specifically acknowledges and agrees:

I understand that material commissioned by, accepted for publication by, or published by The American Quorum may become the exclusive property of 1693 Scholars, LLC under this Agreement. To the extent such material is not legally a work made for hire, I presently assign to 1693 Scholars, LLC all transferable right, title, and interest in the copyright as provided above.

34. CONTRIBUTOR ACKNOWLEDGMENT

By accepting this Agreement, Contributor further acknowledges:

I understand that membership does not guarantee publication. I understand that The American Quorum retains sole editorial control. I certify that material I submit will comply with this Agreement, and I agree to the representations, warranties, copyright provisions, responsibilities, and protections stated above.

35. ENTIRE AGREEMENT

This Agreement, TAQ’s Terms of Use, Privacy Policy, applicable editorial guidelines, and any specific written assignment agreement constitute the applicable agreement governing the Contributor relationship.

A specific written assignment agreement may modify these terms for that assignment.

36. SEVERABILITY AND WAIVER

If a provision is found unlawful or unenforceable, it will be enforced to the maximum extent legally permitted and the remaining provisions will continue in effect.

Failure by TAQ to enforce a provision on one occasion does not waive its right to enforce it later.

37. CONTACT

The American Quorum
1693 Scholars, LLC

Contributor/Legal Email: legal@theamericanquorum.com
Mailing Address: 1693Scholars, LLC, 30 N Gould St, Ste N, Sheridan, WY 82801
1693Scholars, LLC, 30 N Gould St, Ste N, Sheridan, WY 82801 US