Last Modified: December 22, 2025
BookShelves respects the intellectual property rights of others and expects our users to do the same. We will respond expeditiously to claims of copyright infringement under applicable laws, including:
- DMCA (United States - Digital Millennium Copyright Act)
- EU Copyright Directive / DSA (European Union)
- UK Copyright, Designs and Patents Act (United Kingdom)
- Berne Convention and other international copyright treaties
- Other national copyright laws as applicable
Important Notice
BookShelves is a personal library management application. Content in BookShelves comes from two sources:
- User-provided content: Users import their own legally acquired ebooks, stored locally on their devices and in their personal iCloud accounts
- Hosted content: We host mirrors of free books from Standard Ebooks, Project Gutenberg, Internet Archive, and OAPEN Library on our servers for app users to access
We do not have access to users’ personal libraries or the ability to remove content from their devices. For our hosted content, we will promptly remove any works upon receipt of a valid copyright takedown request.
Reporting Copyright Infringement
Submit a Takedown Request
To report copyright infringement related to our hosted content, please use our online copyright takedown request form:
→ Submit Copyright Takedown Request
The form supports claims under DMCA, EU Copyright Directive, and other applicable laws. All requests will be processed within 3 business days.
Alternatively, you may email us directly at: bookshelves.support@icloud.com with subject line “Copyright Takedown Request”
For Content Within the App
If you believe a user is using BookShelves to store or distribute infringing content:
We cannot access user data. BookShelves stores all user content locally on their devices and in their personal iCloud accounts. We do not have access to, control over, or the ability to remove content from users’ devices.
What you can do:
- If the content is being shared publicly (e.g., via OPDS server feature), contact the user directly
- Pursue legal remedies against the individual user if necessary
For Hosted Content
We host mirrors of free books from the following sources on our servers:
- Standard Ebooks (CC0 licensed, curated public domain literature)
- Project Gutenberg (Public domain books, 70,000+ titles)
- Internet Archive (Public domain materials marked “NOT IN COPYRIGHT”)
- OAPEN Library (Open access academic books - various licenses including CC-BY, not all public domain)
Important: Copyright and public domain status varies by jurisdiction. Works marked as “public domain” may still be under copyright in your country depending on local laws. For example, copyright in Germany expires 70 years after the author’s death (§64 UrhG), which may differ from U.S. law.
Note: BookShelves is not affiliated with, endorsed by, or sponsored by any of these organizations. We independently mirror their publicly available content.
If you believe a work we are hosting infringes your copyright:
Use our copyright form to submit a takedown request with evidence of copyright infringement. We will review and remove the work within 3 business days if the claim is valid.
You may also contact the original source directly:
- Standard Ebooks: https://standardebooks.org/about
- Project Gutenberg: https://www.gutenberg.org/about/contact_information.html
- Internet Archive: https://archive.org/about/dmca.php
- OAPEN Library: https://www.oapen.org/
Misrepresentations
Please note that knowingly making false or misleading copyright claims may subject you to legal liability under applicable laws, including but not limited to Section 512(f) of the DMCA (United States), the EU Digital Services Act, and other national copyright laws. This includes penalties for material misrepresentations about whether content is infringing or was removed in error.
Legal Disclaimer
This copyright policy is provided for informational purposes and does not constitute legal advice. BookShelves reserves the right to modify this policy at any time. Continued use of our services constitutes acceptance of any modifications.