Content Licensing & Source Transparency

Last Updated: December 15, 2025
Effective Date: December 15, 2025

Overview

FireSoul (https://firesoul.me) aggregates book metadata from multiple open sources and generates original AI descriptions. This page provides complete transparency about our data sources, how we use them, and the intellectual property rights governing our content.

Our Commitment to Transparency

We believe in:

  • Open Data: Using and supporting open book metadata
  • Legal Compliance: Respecting all source licenses and terms of service
  • Original Content: Creating transformative AI-generated descriptions
  • Full Disclosure: Clear attribution and source documentation

Book Metadata Sources

Group A: CC0/Public Domain (Full Use)

These sources provide data that we can use freely, store permanently, and use as input for AI generation:

Open Library

  • License: CC0 (content) + ODbL (database structure)
  • License URL: https://openlibrary.org/developers/licensing
  • What We Use: Book metadata (title, author, ISBN, subjects, publication info, descriptions)
  • How We Use It: Aggregation, AI reference for description generation
  • Compliance: We consume data without modifying database structure (ODbL compliant)
  • Attribution: Book metadata provided by Open Library (CC0)

Crossref

  • License: CC0
  • License URL: https://www.crossref.org/documentation/
  • What We Use: Academic book metadata (DOI, authors, publication info)
  • How We Use It: Academic book identification and metadata enrichment
  • Compliance: Full use permitted
  • Attribution: Metadata from Crossref (CC0)

Library of Congress

  • License: Public Domain (US Government works)
  • License URL: https://www.loc.gov/legal/
  • What We Use: Book metadata, LC Classification numbers
  • How We Use It: Metadata enrichment, classification
  • Compliance: Public domain, no restrictions
  • Attribution: Data from Library of Congress (Public Domain)

Gutendex/Project Gutenberg

  • License: Public Domain (pre-1928 books)
  • License URL: https://www.gutenberg.org/policy/license.html
  • What We Use: Pre-1928 public domain book metadata
  • How We Use It: Metadata for classic literature
  • Compliance: Project Gutenberg trademark removed from all fields (automated)
  • Trademark Removal: Automated via books/utils/compliance.py::strip_pg_trademark()
  • Attribution: Public domain book information

Group W: Wikipedia (Supplementary Reference)

Wikipedia

  • License: CC BY-SA 3.0
  • License URL: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:Copyrights
  • What We Use: Book-related Wikipedia articles (reference only)
  • How We Use It: Reference material for AI description generation when Open Library descriptions are insufficient (<500 characters)
  • Transformative Use: Our AI descriptions are 93%+ original (7% similarity threshold to all sources)
  • Compliance: Wikipedia content deleted after AI generation, SHA256 hash stored for audit trail
  • Legal Strategy: 93%+ originality = transformative work (new work, not derivative subject to ShareAlike requirement)
  • Attribution: Not required (transformative work, original content deleted)

User Restriction for Wikipedia-Derived Descriptions:

If you obtain a license to republish any FireSoul AI description that was generated using Wikipedia as a reference (flagged in our system with wikipedia_used = true), you agree:

  • NOT to republish it under a license inconsistent with CC BY-SA 3.0
  • NOT to use it in a commercial context that would violate the ShareAlike requirement
  • To contact us at for specific licensing terms if Wikipedia was used as input

This restriction mitigates any risk that our transformative work claim could be challenged and ensures license compliance.

Group C: Proprietary (Verification Only)

These sources have restrictive terms of service. We use them ONLY for temporary verification, never as AI input, and auto-delete immediately:

Google Books API

  • License: Proprietary
  • License URL: https://developers.google.com/books/terms
  • What We Use: Verification only (check metadata accuracy)
  • How We Use It: Temporary access for cross-referencing data quality
  • Prohibited: Storage, caching, AI input, competing database
  • Compliance: Auto-deleted within 1 second (context manager in books/utils/compliance.py::temporary_group_c_data())
  • Audit: Logged in compliance logs (access + deletion timestamps)

Amazon Product API (Planned - Future)

  • License: Proprietary
  • License URL: https://affiliate-program.amazon.com/help/operating/agreement
  • What We Use: Price/availability verification (when affiliate program active)
  • How We Use It: Verify book availability for affiliate links
  • Prohibited: Storage >13 months, competing database
  • Requirements: Active Amazon Associates account with sales
  • Compliance: Rolling 13-month deletion, monitor account activation status
  • Status: NOT YET IMPLEMENTED (planned post-launch)

FireSoul's Original Content

AI-Generated Book Descriptions

Copyright Owner: © apqa Tomasz Kozakiewicz, All Rights Reserved

Creation Process:

  1. Aggregate metadata from Group A sources (Open Library, Crossref, LoC, Gutendex)
  2. Optionally use Wikipedia as supplementary reference (if Open Library description <500 chars)
  3. Generate original description with Claude AI (claude-sonnet-4)
  4. Verify 93%+ originality (7% similarity threshold to all sources)
  5. Store with immutable timestamp (description_created_at) for legal defense

Legal Basis - Human Creative Process:

  • Polish copyright law (Ustawa o prawie autorskim i prawach pokrewnych) protects original creative works
  • Our AI-generated descriptions are the product of substantial human creative input:
    • Proprietary prompt architecture: Custom-designed instruction templates developed through extensive iteration and testing
    • Style guides: Specific guidelines for tone, structure, and spiritual content analysis
    • Human selection process: Manual curation of source data and quality verification
    • Post-generation review: Human review and editing for accuracy, consistency, and brand voice
    • Creative direction: Unique approach to spiritual book analysis (focus on transformation, practice, and reader outcomes)

Technical Safeguards:

  • Automated verification: Plagiarism detection against all source materials with 93%+ originality threshold
  • Typical originality: 95-98% original content (based on testing with 168 books)
  • Purpose: Confirms transformative use and original creative work
  • Legal Defense: Immutable description_created_at timestamp in database

What You Can Do:

  • ✅ Read for free on FireSoul (firesoul.me)
  • ✅ Link to our pages (deep links encouraged)
  • ✅ Quote short excerpts with attribution (fair use under Polish copyright law Art. 29)

What You CANNOT Do:

  • ❌ Copy or republish descriptions without written permission
  • ❌ Use in commercial products without licensing agreement
  • ❌ Scrape systematically (violates our database rights)
  • ❌ Claim as your own work
  • ❌ Remove copyright notices or attributions

For Licensing Inquiries:

  • Commercial use: Contact
  • Bulk access: Contact for API licensing
  • Academic research: Contact for data access
  • Non-profit use: Contact to discuss options

Aggregated Database

Database Rights: Protected by Polish database rights (sui generis protection, 15-year term)

Legal Basis:

  • Polish implementation of EU Database Directive (96/9/EC)
  • Protection for "substantial investment" in obtaining, verifying, or presenting data

Our Investment:

  • Technical infrastructure for aggregating multiple sources
  • Data quality verification and deduplication
  • Category mapping (6,098 subject→category mappings)
  • Metadata enrichment and normalization

What This Means:

  • Book metadata from sources = CC0/Public Domain (source license applies)
  • Our aggregated database = protected (systematic extraction prohibited)
  • Important: The CC0/Public Domain status of the source data does NOT negate the sui generis right protecting our database structure, selection, and organization. Systematic copying of our aggregated database remains prohibited under Polish/EU database law, regardless of the CC0 status of individual data elements.

Prohibited:

  • ❌ Systematic extraction of substantial parts of our database
  • ❌ Scraping or automated harvesting of our catalog
  • ❌ Creating competing databases using our aggregation

For Bulk Access:

  • Contact to discuss API licensing
  • We may provide access for legitimate research, academic, or commercial use

Website Code and Design

Copyright Owner: © apqa Tomasz Kozakiewicz, All Rights Reserved

Status: Proprietary (closed source)

Prohibited:

  • ❌ Copying or reproducing website code
  • ❌ Reverse engineering
  • ❌ Creating derivative works

Note: We do NOT release our code as open source. Respect our intellectual property rights.

Book Covers

Source

Primary: Open Library Cover API (https://covers.openlibrary.org/)

How We Use:

  • Hotlinked (not downloaded or stored locally)
  • Display as thumbnails for book identification
  • Sizes: S (small, 90x135), M (medium, 180x270), L (large, 500x750)

Legal Basis

Fair Use under Polish copyright law (Art. 29 - prawo cytatu):

  • Purpose: Book identification (illustrative, informative)
  • Context: Non-commercial educational/informational context
  • Amount: Low-resolution thumbnails only
  • Effect: Does not compete with original market (drives traffic to book sellers)

US Fair Use (for international users):

  • Transformative use (identification, not decoration)
  • Factual work (cover is factual representation of book)
  • Small amount (thumbnail, not high-res)
  • No market harm (increases book sales)

Takedown Process

If You Own Rights:

We respect intellectual property rights. If you believe a book cover infringes your copyright:

  1. Email: with:
    • Your contact information (name, email, phone)
    • Copyright ownership proof (registration certificate or work samples)
    • ISBN or URL of book on firesoul.me
    • Statement: "I am the copyright owner (or authorized agent) and request removal"
    • Good faith statement: "I believe use of this cover is not authorized"
    • Signature: Electronic signature (typed name)
  2. Response Time:
    • Acknowledge: 3 business days
    • Resolve: 14 days total
  3. Our Response:
    • Remove: We'll remove the cover image if you own rights and we cannot establish fair use
    • Dispute: We'll explain why our use is lawful (fair use, you don't own rights, Open Library license)
  4. Counter-Notice: If you believe we removed your cover in error, you can file counter-notice. We'll review and may reinstate if appropriate.

Note: Most book covers are provided by Open Library, which has its own rights assessment. We don't upload covers ourselves.

Book Metadata (Facts, Not Copyrightable)

What Is Not Copyrightable

Under US copyright law (Feist Publications v. Rural Telephone) and similar principles in Polish/EU law:

Facts Are Not Copyrightable:

  • ISBN (International Standard Book Number)
  • Title (factual identifier)
  • Author names (factual information)
  • Publication date (factual data)
  • Publisher name (factual identifier)
  • Page count (factual information)
  • Dewey Decimal Classification (classification system, public domain)
  • Library of Congress Classification (classification system, public domain)
  • Subject tags (descriptive facts)

What This Means:

  • We can legally catalog ANY book ever published
  • We don't need publisher permission for factual metadata
  • Our catalog size is limited only by data availability

What IS Copyrightable:

  • Book descriptions (creative expression) - that's why we generate our own
  • Book cover art (visual works) - that's why we use fair use thumbnails
  • Marketing copy (creative text) - we don't use it

Copyright Claims & Takedown Process

For AI-Generated Descriptions

If You Believe Your Copyright Is Infringed:

  1. Email: with:
    • Your contact information
    • Description of your copyrighted work
    • URL on firesoul.me you believe infringes
    • Explanation of how it infringes (be specific)
    • Statement: "I have a good-faith belief this use is not authorized"
    • Statement: "The information in this notification is accurate. I am the copyright owner or authorized to act on their behalf."
    • Electronic signature (typed name)
  2. Response Time:
    • Acknowledge: 3 business days
    • Resolve: 14 days total
  3. Our Review:
    • Check our creation timestamp (description_created_at is immutable)
    • Check our originality scores (should be 93%+ original)
    • Check our source logs (which Group A sources we used)
    • Determine if we independently created the description
  4. Our Response:
    • Remove: If we somehow copied your description (unlikely given our process)
    • Dispute: If we independently created it (provide timestamps, originality scores, source logs)

Counter-Notice Process

If We Remove Your Content by Mistake:

  1. Email: with:
    • Your contact information
    • Identification of removed content
    • Statement: "I have a good-faith belief the content was removed by mistake"
    • Statement: "I consent to jurisdiction of District Court in Kraków, Poland"
    • Electronic signature
  2. Review: We'll review your counter-notice and may reinstate if appropriate

Legal Jurisdiction

Important: Polish law applies, not US DMCA.

Why We Follow DMCA-Like Process:

  • International clarity (most users understand DMCA process)
  • Best practices for copyright dispute resolution
  • But: Polish courts have jurisdiction, Polish copyright law applies

Contact Us

Copyright Claims:
Licensing Inquiries:
General Questions:

Mailing Address:
apqa Tomasz Kozakiewicz
ul. Józefa Sarego 5/4
31-047 Kraków, Poland

Business Information:
NIP: PL6751191044
REGON: 121251317

Additional Resources

Privacy Policy: https://firesoul.me/privacy/
Terms of Service: https://firesoul.me/terms/
About: https://firesoul.me/about/

Source Code Compliance:

  • Compliance utilities: books/utils/compliance.py (proprietary, not open source)
  • Legal classification: docs/specs/3-source-legal-classification.md
  • Compliance logging: docs/operations/compliance-log-management.md

Questions about this document? Contact us at