Rights & methodology
Listed PD (US) badges require cited attestation; Verified PD (US) requires human-reviewed scoped determinations. Edition text and narration recording must clear our publication gate before a book page is indexable. Report rights concerns via copyright@audioshelf.org — this page is methodology, not legal advice.
audioshelf is a United States finding aid. We do not host audiobook files; we link to open collections and store evidence about why a title may be listed as public domain in the US.
Evidence tiers
- Listed PD (US) — automated attestation with cited URLs (LibriVox policy, Gutenberg edition, etc.)
- Verified PD (US) — human-reviewed bundle with legal rule traceability
- No badge — asserted catalog signal only, or gaps in scoped evidence
Scoped determinations
Rights are tracked per layer: original work, edition text, translation, narration recording, cover artwork, illustrations, summaries, and music/SFX when present. Internet Archive or Open Library presence alone is not clearance.
Publication gate
Indexable book pages require scoped clearance on edition text and narration recording (or no blocking determination rows). Works with restricted or removed status are omitted from book sitemaps and marked noindex at build time.
Report a concern
See Copyright & takedown or emailcopyright@audioshelf.org with the work URL and your concern. This page describes our methodology; it is not legal advice.