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Playbook Copyright & Intellectual Property Policy

Last updated: 24 August 2026

1. Purpose

Playbook is a platform for publishing, preserving, collecting, and discovering human-made creative and cultural work.

Respect for artists, photographers, designers, makers, authors, studios, estates, institutions, and other rights holders is fundamental to that purpose.

Users may not use Playbook to infringe another person's intellectual-property rights.

This Policy explains:

  • what Playbook expects from contributors;
  • how rights holders can report potentially infringing material;
  • how Playbook reviews intellectual-property complaints;
  • how affected users may respond;
  • how repeated or serious infringement may affect an account.

This Policy operates alongside the Playbook Terms of Use and Community Standards.

2. Ownership Does Not Transfer to Playbook

Uploading a work to Playbook does not transfer ownership of that work to Playbook.

Users retain the intellectual-property rights they hold in their User Content.

Users grant Playbook only the licence described in the Terms of Use that is reasonably necessary to host, process, moderate, display, distribute, secure, and operate the Service.

Playbook does not acquire copyright ownership merely because material appears in the archive.

3. Contributor Responsibility

Before uploading material, you must have the rights necessary to submit and publish it.

Depending on the material, this may mean that:

  • you created the image or work;
  • you own the relevant rights;
  • the rights holder gave you permission;
  • you have an appropriate licence;
  • the material is in the public domain;
  • or another applicable legal exception allows the use.

Playbook cannot determine in advance whether every upload is legally authorized in every jurisdiction.

You are responsible for understanding the rights applicable to material you submit.

4. Attribution Is Not the Same as Permission

Crediting the original creator does not automatically give you permission to reproduce their work.

For example, correctly naming:

  • an artist;
  • photographer;
  • filmmaker;
  • designer;
  • architect;
  • illustrator;
  • record label;
  • publisher;
  • museum;
  • archive;
  • estate;

does not by itself create a copyright licence.

Playbook encourages accurate attribution, but attribution and authorization are separate questions.

5. Contributor and Original Creator May Be Different People

Playbook is an archive.

The person documenting or contributing a work may not be the person who originally created it.

A contributor should not falsely present themselves as the original artist, maker, photographer, designer, author, or other creator.

Where known and relevant, Playbook users should identify the original creator or maker accurately.

A contributor's ownership of a photograph documenting an object does not necessarily mean the contributor owns intellectual-property rights in the object or artwork depicted.

Copyright may protect original creative expression such as:

  • photographs;
  • illustrations;
  • paintings;
  • graphic design;
  • films;
  • animation;
  • music;
  • writing;
  • software;
  • architecture;
  • digital artwork;
  • other qualifying creative works.

Do not knowingly upload copyrighted material without the rights or legal basis necessary to do so.

Copyright rules and exceptions differ between jurisdictions.

Playbook does not assume that every unlicensed use is infringement, because doctrines and exceptions such as quotation, criticism, review, parody, fair use, fair dealing, public-domain status, and other lawful uses may apply depending on the jurisdiction and circumstances.

7. Public-Domain Material

Material whose copyright has expired or otherwise entered the public domain may generally be documented on Playbook, subject to other applicable rights and Playbook policies.

Users should not knowingly describe material as public domain when they know that the claim is false.

The copyright status of historical works can be complicated and may differ between countries.

Playbook may request additional information where a public-domain claim is disputed.

8. Trademarks

Playbook also respects trademark rights.

Use of a trademark is not automatically prohibited merely because it appears in a photograph, artwork, historical artifact, automobile, package, product, poster, publication, or other documented work.

However, users must not use trademarks in a manner intended to:

  • impersonate a rights holder;
  • falsely suggest sponsorship or endorsement;
  • misrepresent an official relationship;
  • sell or promote counterfeit goods;
  • materially deceive users regarding origin or affiliation.

Trademark disputes may require consideration of context, jurisdiction, and the way the mark is being used.

8A. Playbook Brand and Platform Integrity

The Playbook name, logos, trademarks, visual identity, original software code, interface artwork, written materials, documentation, and other original platform materials are owned by or licensed to Playbook and may be protected by applicable trademark, copyright, design, trade-secret, unfair-competition, passing-off, and similar laws.

Except where expressly authorized by Playbook or otherwise permitted by applicable law, no person may:

  • use the Playbook name, logo, or a confusingly similar designation in a manner likely to mislead others about source, affiliation, sponsorship, endorsement, or authorization;
  • impersonate Playbook or falsely claim to represent, operate, partner with, or act on behalf of Playbook;
  • reproduce, distribute, modify, sell, license, or commercially exploit protected Playbook software code, artwork, graphics, written materials, or other original platform materials without the rights necessary to do so;
  • publish or operate an application, website, domain name, social-media account, service, or other offering designed to pass itself off as Playbook or to create a misleading impression that it is an official Playbook property;
  • use Playbook intellectual property for phishing, fraud, malicious spoofing, consumer deception, counterfeit activity, or other unlawful conduct; or
  • copy protected visual elements, branding, or trade dress in circumstances where that copying is likely to cause legally actionable confusion or deception.

Nothing in this section is intended to prohibit lawful commentary, criticism, journalism, parody, nominative or descriptive use, interoperability, fair use or fair dealing, or any other use permitted by applicable law.

This section does not claim exclusive ownership over ideas, concepts, methods, systems, generic features, or other subject matter that applicable law does not protect. Copyright generally protects original expression rather than abstract ideas themselves.

Playbook may review suspected violations involving its own brand or platform materials. Where reasonably justified, Playbook may request correction or removal, restrict access to the Service, preserve evidence, submit infringement, impersonation, fraud, or abuse reports to relevant application marketplaces, hosting providers, domain registrars, social platforms, search services, or other intermediaries, and pursue any other remedies available under applicable law.

Playbook does not itself impose governmental or regulatory penalties. Questions of legal liability, statutory remedies, injunctions, damages, or regulatory action are determined by the relevant courts, authorities, or other competent bodies under applicable law.

8B. Brand Use, Permissions, Sharing and Collaborations

Public availability or visibility of the Playbook name, logo, branding, visual identity, promotional materials, graphics, or other proprietary assets does not transfer ownership of those assets or grant a general licence to adopt, reproduce, commercially exploit, or represent them as belonging to another person or organization.

Open Sharing and Promotion

Playbook is designed to be shared.

Users, creators, members of the public, media, communities, and supporters are free to talk about, recommend, discuss, link to, promote, and share Playbook through word of mouth, social media, messaging platforms, websites, publications, videos, streams, posts, articles, reviews, presentations, and other ordinary forms of communication.

Creating content about Playbook, sharing Playbook pages or contributions, posting screenshots, linking to Playbook, discussing works or creators discovered through Playbook, recommending the platform to others, and using Playbook's built-in sharing features are permitted.

Organic promotion of Playbook is permitted and encouraged.

Advertising or promotional content that genuinely directs people toward Playbook, a Playbook profile, contribution, creator, campaign, or other legitimate Playbook destination is also permitted, provided that the advertisement does not falsely represent itself as an official Playbook advertisement or imply a partnership, sponsorship, endorsement, or authorization that does not exist.

Creators may freely promote the existence of their own Playbook profiles, contributions, collections, or participation on the platform.

Ordinary references such as “Available on Playbook,” “Find me on Playbook,” “Featured on Playbook,” or similar truthful statements are permitted where factually accurate.

These permitted activities do not require prior consent from Playbook solely because they mention, link to, discuss, or legitimately promote the platform.

Restricted Brand Use

Prior authorization from Playbook is required where a person or organization intends to use Playbook branding as part of its own identity, business, product, service, application, website, merchandise, commercial offering, event, campaign, sponsorship, partnership, or other activity in a manner that could reasonably suggest an official relationship with Playbook.

Playbook branding may not be adopted as another party's logo, brand identity, product identity, company identity, domain identity, application identity, merchandise brand, or other proprietary identifier without authorization.

No person or organization may falsely represent itself as Playbook or falsely claim to be an official Playbook partner, representative, sponsor, affiliate, employee, service, division, campaign, or authorized operation.

Collaborations and Permissions

Any formal collaboration, partnership, sponsorship, promotional arrangement, licensing arrangement, co-branded project, merchandise arrangement, or other authorized commercial use of Playbook branding must be expressly approved by Playbook.

Discussions, correspondence, proposals, introductions, or negotiations alone do not constitute authorization unless Playbook has expressly granted permission.

Permission may be limited by purpose, format, duration, territory, platform, campaign, or other agreed conditions. Authorization for one use does not automatically authorize another use.

Authorization to use Playbook branding does not transfer ownership of the Playbook name, logos, branding, artwork, intellectual property, or other proprietary rights unless an express written agreement specifically states otherwise.

Nothing in this section is intended to restrict lawful commentary, criticism, journalism, parody, education, discussion, descriptive or nominative reference, or other uses permitted by applicable law.

9. Other Rights

Content may also implicate rights other than copyright or trademark.

Depending on applicable law, these may include:

  • publicity or personality rights;
  • moral rights;
  • design rights;
  • patent rights;
  • database rights;
  • trade-secret rights;
  • contractual rights;
  • privacy rights;
  • other proprietary rights.

A rights complaint should clearly identify the right that the complainant believes has been infringed.

Playbook's in-app reporting system includes an Intellectual property report category.

That option may be used to alert Playbook to a possible copyright, ownership, or unauthorized-use issue.

For straightforward cases, the in-app report may be sufficient to begin review.

For formal or more complex rights complaints, rights holders or authorized representatives should email hello@playbook.cam.

11. Information to Include in an Intellectual-Property Complaint

To allow Playbook to review a complaint fairly and efficiently, provide enough information to identify both the claimed right and the challenged content.

A useful complaint should include:

  1. Your name and contact email.

  2. If you represent another person or organization, an explanation of your authority to act for that rights holder.

  3. Identification of the copyrighted work, trademark, or other right you believe is affected.

  4. A sufficiently clear explanation of why you believe the Playbook content infringes that right.

  5. The exact Playbook work, profile, URL, contribution identifier, screenshot, or other information necessary to locate the challenged material.

  6. If relevant, information showing where an authorized or original version of the work can be found.

  7. A statement that the information in your complaint is accurate to the best of your knowledge.

  8. A statement that you are submitting the complaint in good faith.

  9. Any additional evidence reasonably useful for evaluating the complaint.

Do not send unrelated sensitive personal information.

12. Complaints Should Be Specific

A complaint should identify specific material.

Statements such as:

“Someone is stealing my work”

without enough information to identify the affected Playbook content may not allow us to act.

Where a complaint provides enough initial information to identify the claimed work and challenged content but is incomplete, Playbook may ask the complainant for additional information.

13. Who May Submit a Rights Complaint

A complaint may be submitted by:

  • the rights holder;
  • an authorized representative;
  • a lawyer or other properly authorized agent;
  • another person legally entitled to enforce the relevant right.

If authority is unclear, Playbook may request evidence that the complainant is entitled to act.

14. Good-Faith Complaints

Rights-reporting systems must not be used to intimidate critics, competitors, researchers, historians, collectors, artists, or other users.

Do not knowingly submit a false or fraudulent complaint.

Do not knowingly claim ownership of work that you do not own.

Do not use an intellectual-property complaint to resolve unrelated personal disputes.

Playbook may take action against accounts that deliberately abuse the reporting process.

15. What Happens After Playbook Receives a Complaint

Playbook may review:

  • the complaint;
  • the challenged material;
  • information provided by the contributor;
  • attribution and provenance information;
  • publication context;
  • relevant licences or permissions;
  • public-domain claims;
  • applicable legal exceptions;
  • previous related complaints;
  • other information reasonably relevant to the dispute.

Depending on the circumstances, Playbook may:

  • request additional information;
  • leave the content available while reviewing;
  • temporarily restrict the content;
  • remove or disable access to the content;
  • contact the contributor;
  • request evidence of authorization;
  • reject the complaint;
  • take other action required by applicable law.

The filing of a complaint does not automatically establish that infringement occurred.

16. Clear Cases and Urgent Action

Playbook may act quickly where available information provides a strong basis to conclude that material is unauthorized or must be disabled under applicable law.

We may also take immediate action where a valid court order, competent authority, or other binding legal obligation requires it.

Playbook may preserve appropriate records relating to the decision.

17. Notice to the Affected User

Where legally permitted and reasonably appropriate, Playbook may notify the user whose content is affected by an intellectual-property complaint.

The notice may identify:

  • the affected content;
  • the general nature of the complaint;
  • the action Playbook took;
  • information about requesting reconsideration.

We may withhold information where disclosure would create a legal, privacy, safety, security, or fraud risk.

18. Responding to a Complaint

If your content is restricted or removed following an intellectual-property complaint and you believe the decision is incorrect, you may request reconsideration.

Email hello@playbook.cam and explain why you believe the content may lawfully remain on Playbook.

Relevant information may include:

  • proof that you created the material;
  • permission from the rights holder;
  • a licence;
  • public-domain information;
  • evidence that the wrong content was identified;
  • information concerning an applicable legal exception;
  • other evidence showing that the complaint was mistaken.

Do not fabricate permissions, licences, ownership documents, or other evidence.

19. Playbook Is Not a Court

Some intellectual-property disputes are genuinely complex.

Playbook may not be able to definitively determine:

  • copyright ownership;
  • contractual ownership;
  • authorship disputes;
  • fair use or fair dealing;
  • trademark confusion;
  • validity of a licence;
  • public-domain status;
  • competing estate claims;
  • other contested legal questions.

Playbook may take reasonable platform action based on the information available without claiming to make a final judicial determination about ownership.

Parties remain free to pursue rights and remedies available under applicable law.

20. Repeat Infringement

Playbook may restrict or terminate accounts that repeatedly infringe intellectual-property rights.

When evaluating repeated infringement, Playbook may consider:

  • the number of substantiated complaints;
  • the seriousness of violations;
  • whether different works or rights holders were affected;
  • whether the user acted knowingly;
  • whether previous warnings were ignored;
  • whether complaints were later reversed or shown to be mistaken;
  • other relevant circumstances.

Playbook should not treat a plainly invalid, fraudulent, withdrawn, or successfully challenged complaint as equivalent to a substantiated infringement finding.

Serious deliberate infringement may justify action without waiting for repeated violations.

21. Restoration After a Successful Review

If Playbook concludes that content was removed or restricted in error, we may restore it where technically possible and legally appropriate.

Restoration may not be possible where:

  • the user deleted the content;
  • the account was deleted;
  • another independent policy violation prevents restoration;
  • applicable law or a binding order prevents restoration;
  • necessary files are no longer retained.

22. Counterfeit Goods and Deceptive Commerce

Playbook is not intended to function as a counterfeit marketplace.

Users may document branded products, historical objects, fashion, packaging, watches, automobiles, or other commercial design where relevant to the archive.

However, Playbook may restrict material used to knowingly promote counterfeit goods or falsely represent counterfeit goods as authentic where that activity violates applicable law or Playbook policy.

23. Historical and Documentary Context

Playbook's archival purpose matters when reviewing intellectual-property reports.

The appearance of copyrighted or trademarked material within:

  • documentary photography;
  • historical archives;
  • criticism;
  • commentary;
  • cultural research;
  • newsworthy documentation;
  • museum or exhibition documentation;
  • transformative creative work;

does not automatically establish infringement.

At the same time, calling something “archival,” “educational,” or “art” does not automatically create permission to reproduce protected material.

Playbook may consider the actual circumstances.

24. Provenance and Attribution Corrections

Some disputes concern inaccurate attribution rather than copyright infringement.

For example:

  • the wrong photographer may be named;
  • a manufacturer may be incorrectly identified;
  • the year may be wrong;
  • the contributor may be mistaken for the original creator;
  • provenance may be incomplete.

Where appropriate, Playbook may resolve such issues through a correction or revision rather than removal.

Material revisions to published contributions may be subject to Playbook's moderation process before becoming public.

25. Preservation of Evidence

Where content is removed following an intellectual-property or legal complaint, Playbook may preserve limited evidence reasonably necessary to:

  • document the complaint;
  • document the enforcement decision;
  • prevent repeated abuse;
  • resolve disputes;
  • comply with law;
  • establish, exercise, or defend legal claims.

This does not mean that removed content must remain publicly accessible.

Retention is governed by the Privacy Policy and applicable law.

26. Privacy of Complainants

Information submitted in a rights complaint may be processed as described in the Playbook Privacy Policy.

Where reasonably necessary to evaluate the dispute, some complaint information may be provided to the affected user.

Do not submit information that you are not authorized to provide.

Playbook may withhold personal information where disclosure is unnecessary or would create a material privacy, security, or safety risk.

Requests from courts, regulators, law-enforcement agencies, or other competent authorities are handled separately from ordinary community reports.

Playbook may require appropriate legal process before disclosing non-public account information or taking action requested by an authority, except where applicable law permits or requires otherwise.

28. United States DMCA Status

Playbook does not currently represent through this Policy that it has completed the formal steps necessary to rely on the United States Digital Millennium Copyright Act service-provider safe harbours.

Before Playbook publicly claims a formal DMCA notice-and-counter-notice process or designated DMCA agent, the operators must determine whether such registration is appropriate and, if so, complete the required legal and administrative steps.

Those steps may include:

  • designating an agent;
  • registering the designation with the U.S. Copyright Office;
  • publishing required agent contact information;
  • maintaining an appropriate repeat-infringer policy;
  • following applicable notice and counter-notice procedures.

Until that work is completed, complaints may still be submitted through Playbook's general intellectual-property complaint process.

29. Other Jurisdictions

Playbook may be available in multiple countries.

Intellectual-property laws differ between jurisdictions.

This Policy is intended to establish a general platform process and does not replace mandatory rights or procedures under applicable law.

Where applicable law imposes additional notice, action, appeal, transparency, or restoration obligations, Playbook will comply with those requirements where they apply.

30. Updates to This Policy

Playbook may update this Policy as:

  • the Service evolves;
  • intellectual-property procedures mature;
  • legal requirements change;
  • Playbook's legal operating structure changes;
  • jurisdiction-specific processes are introduced.

Published versions will include a version number and effective date.

31. Contact

For copyright, trademark, or other intellectual-property concerns, email hello@playbook.cam.

For review of an IP-related moderation decision, email the same address and identify the decision you want reviewed.