Copyright & takedown policy

Last updated: 2026-07-01

The plain-English summary

• Everything we publish is written by us — original editorial summaries, analysis, and reading guides.
• We use short, attributed quotations for review and education (fair use), never long passages.
• Book covers appear as small thumbnails to identify the book you can buy — nothing more.
• We respect creators. If you own a right and believe we’ve overstepped, tell us and we’ll fix or remove it fast.

What we publish, and why it’s original

Read Stacks publishes original editorial content — our own chapter-by-chapter summaries, “big ideas explained” write-ups, reading guides, and author overviews. These are interpretations and analysis written in our own words. Facts (titles, authors, publication dates) and the ideas in a book are not copyrightable and are free to discuss. We do not copy the text of the books themselves, and we do not republish anyone else’s summaries or articles.

Where we quote an author, we keep it short, name the source work, and pair it with our own commentary — standard fair use for criticism, review, and education. Book cover images are used as small identification thumbnails alongside links to buy the book, a widely-accepted commercial and nominative use.

Notice-and-takedown — for rights holders

We honor a notice-and-takedown process consistent with the U.S. Digital Millennium Copyright Act (DMCA) and equivalent laws. If you are a copyright owner (or authorized to act for one) and you believe material on Read Stacks infringes your rights, email us at contact@acevault.org with the subject line “Copyright notice” and include:

1. Your name, address, and contact details (and who you represent, if not yourself).
2. Identification of the copyrighted work you say has been infringed.
3. The exact URL(s) on Read Stacks where the material appears.
4. A statement that you have a good-faith belief the use is not authorized by the owner, its agent, or the law.
5. A statement, under penalty of perjury, that the information in your notice is accurate and that you are the owner or authorized to act for the owner.
6. Your physical or electronic signature.

We review every complete notice promptly and will remove or disable access to material that is infringing. We’d rather resolve concerns by email than by dispute — so please reach out and we’ll act quickly.

Counter-notice

If we remove material you posted or provided and you believe that was a mistake or misidentification, you may send a counter-notice to the same address with your contact details, the material and its location, and a statement, under penalty of perjury, that you have a good-faith belief it was removed in error.

Repeat infringement

In appropriate circumstances we will restrict or remove access for anyone who repeatedly submits infringing material.

Our own content

The original summaries, guides, design, and text on Read Stacks are our copyright. You’re welcome to link to us; please don’t scrape or republish our pages.

See also our Terms of service and Privacy policy. Questions? Contact us.