Copyright / DMCA Policy

Last updated: 2026-05-25

1. Our position on intellectual property

We respect intellectual property rights and we expect our users to do the same.

We also build a product that ingests publisher rulebook text to power an AI rules assistant. We want to be straightforward about that. If you are a publisher, designer, or other rights-holder and you would prefer your rulebook not be used by Board Game Guru, the process below will get it removed.

This document covers:

  • The notice and takedown process under the US Digital Millennium Copyright Act (DMCA), 17 U.S.C. § 512.
  • A parallel process for rights-holders outside the United States.
  • Trademark concerns (game names, publisher names, packshots).
  • Our repeat-infringer policy.

2. About our rulebook ingestion

We accept rulebook PDFs that we obtain from publisher websites, retailers, official archives, and community uploads. After ingestion we store the cleaned text in our database so the assistant can ground its answers in it. We also display attribution to the rulebook source where we have it.

If you are a rights-holder, you have three options:

  1. Removal. Send a DMCA notice (Section 3) or a non-US rights claim (Section 6). We will remove the rulebook text and disable answers grounded in it.
  2. Sanctioned use. Email dmca@boardgameguru.org to discuss a licensed or otherwise sanctioned use of your rulebook on Board Game Guru. We are open to this.
  3. Continue as is. No action needed.

3. Our designated agent under the DMCA

We have designated the following agent to receive notifications of claimed infringement under 17 U.S.C. § 512(c)(2):

If you contact a different address with a DMCA notice, we may not see it in time to respond, and your notice may not satisfy the statute. Email is the fastest path.

4. How to send a DMCA notice (§ 512(c)(3))

To be effective, your notice must be in writing and include all six of the following:

  1. A physical or electronic signature of the owner of the copyright (or a person authorised to act on the owner's behalf).
  2. Identification of the copyrighted work claimed to be infringed. If a single notice covers multiple works, a representative list.
  3. Identification of the material that is claimed to be infringing or that is the subject of the infringing activity, and information reasonably sufficient to let us locate the material. For Board Game Guru, please include:
    • The URL on boardgameguru.org (for example, the game page at /games/<id>).
    • The game ID and game title.
    • The specific text, image, or other content you say is infringing (a quoted passage is ideal).
  4. Information reasonably sufficient to let us contact you: name, postal address, telephone number, and email address.
  5. A statement that you have a good-faith belief that use of the material in the manner complained of is not authorised by the copyright owner, its agent, or the law.
  6. A statement that the information in the notice is accurate, and under penalty of perjury, that you are authorised to act on behalf of the owner of an exclusive right that is allegedly infringed.

Send the notice to dmca@boardgameguru.org with subject line "DMCA Notice." If you wish to send a hard copy as well, request the postal address from the same email.

Misuse warning. Under § 512(f), a person who knowingly materially misrepresents that material is infringing may be liable for damages and attorneys' fees. Do not send a DMCA notice for content you do not own or for non-copyright concerns (use Section 6 or 7 instead).

5. What we do when we receive a valid notice

  • Expeditious removal. We remove or disable access to the material as soon as practicable after confirming the notice is valid on its face.
  • Notify the alleged infringer. If the material was submitted by a registered user (e.g., a community-uploaded rulebook), we will forward the notice to them and let them know it has been removed.
  • Record. We keep a record of notices, counter-notifications, and our response, in line with our retention schedule.
  • Repeat infringers. See Section 8.

6. Counter-notification (§ 512(g))

If you believe your content was removed by mistake or misidentification, you may send a counter-notification. It must include all of the following:

  1. Your physical or electronic signature.
  2. Identification of the material that has been removed or disabled and the location at which it appeared before removal.
  3. A statement under penalty of perjury that you have a good-faith belief that the material was removed or disabled as a result of mistake or misidentification.
  4. Your name, postal address, telephone number, and a statement that you consent to the jurisdiction of the federal district court for the judicial district in which your address is located (or, if you are outside the United States, for any judicial district in which Board Game Guru may be found), and that you will accept service of process from the person who provided the original notice.

Send to dmca@boardgameguru.org.

If we receive a valid counter-notification, we will forward it to the original complainant. If the complainant does not notify us within 10 to 14 business days that they have filed a court action seeking a restraining order, we may restore the material.

7. Non-DMCA rights claims (international rights-holders)

If you are outside the United States and you would prefer to make your claim under your own law (for example, the EU Copyright Directive, the UK CDPA 1988, or Canada's Copyright Act), you do not need to send a formal DMCA notice. Email dmca@boardgameguru.org with:

  • Your name and a way for us to verify your authority to act for the rights-holder.
  • Identification of the copyrighted work.
  • Identification of the material on Board Game Guru you say is infringing, with URLs.
  • A short statement of why the use is not authorised.
  • The legal basis you rely on (named law and country).

We will assess valid claims in good faith and respond on the same expeditious basis as DMCA notices.

8. Repeat-infringer policy

We will terminate, in appropriate circumstances, the accounts of users who are the subject of repeated meritorious notices of infringement. "Repeat" generally means more than one separately substantiated notice, but we apply judgment based on the seriousness of each incident.

9. Trademark notice

Game titles, publisher names, logos, box art, and component photos are the trademarks of their respective owners. We use them descriptively — to identify the game a user is asking about, in the spirit of nominative fair use — and we do not claim endorsement, sponsorship, or affiliation unless we say so explicitly.

If you are a trademark owner and want a particular use removed or amended (for example, a misleading display of your mark), email dmca@boardgameguru.org with the subject line "Trademark Concern." Include the mark, the location on our site, and why you say the use is improper. We will review and respond promptly.

10. Honest disclosure: rights-clearance is not a hard gate today

Our admin tool currently lets a small number of authorised administrators import rulebooks without a formal rights-clearance check. We rely on the takedown channel above to correct any improper inclusion. We are working on adding:

  • A "Report copyright issue" button on each game page.
  • A clearer attribution surface for rulebook sources.
  • A workflow for sanctioned-publisher rulebooks, separate from community-uploaded ones.

In the meantime: this page is our front door. We will move quickly when you write.

Questions? Contact us at dmca@boardgameguru.org.