Copyright and Content Policy

OpenShelf only hosts books that may be legally distributed. We do not tolerate piracy.

What may be uploaded

• Public-domain works
• Works under a Creative Commons licence that allows redistribution
• Works uploaded by their author or owner
• Works shared with the explicit permission of the copyright holder

How we enforce it

• Every uploader must declare their rights and give licence evidence.
• A moderator reviews each submission before it is published.
• Uploaders can restrict a book to online reading only.
• Every moderation decision is written to an audit log.

Reporting infringement (takedown requests)

If you believe a book infringes your copyright, use the Report button on the book page or the report form, choose “Copyright infringement”, and provide: the work you own, why the listed book infringes it, and your name and contact details.

Moderators can restrict access to a disputed book immediately while they investigate, and will record their decision. If the claim is upheld the book is removed.

Repeat-infringer policy

Each upheld copyright removal adds a strike to the uploader's account. Three strikes result in automatic account suspension.

Other content

Malicious files, unlawful content and misleading metadata are removed and may lead to suspension.