What modifications to the Authors and License section in the README file of a cloned repository are permissible under an MIT License?

Question

Suppose Robert Smith has a repo with a README file containing this section:

Authors

Robert Smith

• Robert Smith's website

License

Code copyright Robert Smith. Code released under the MIT license.

Now I have cloned Robert Smith's repo and made changes to it.

What modifications am I allowed to make to this section?

Can I add my name to the list of authors?
Do I have to mark my name as a contributor?
Will I have to write 'original author' in brackets beside Robert Smith's name?
Am I allowed to change the license section from

Code copyright Robert Smith. Code released under the MIT license.

to

Code copyright Robert Smith and Off Kilter. Code released under the MIT license.

or even

Code released under the MIT license.

Copyright (c) <Year> Robert Smith
Copyright (c) <Year> Off Kilter

Can I instead simply remove this Authors and License section in the README file?

The LICENSE file will remain unmodified except that my name will be added to the copyright section.

Answer 1

The Authors and Licence section in a README file has no legal status, so you can do with it whatever you want, including removing it completely.

The only effective requirement of the MIT license is that you must preserve the license text itself and the copyright notices.