Copyright and Intellectual Property

Operator / Responsible Party

The 2ndBook service is provided by an independent individual developer who is not a legal entity. The Operator's full identifying details are set out in the Privacy Policy, section 1.1. 2ndBook is a non-commercial tool that lets users find and contact each other directly. The operator is not a party to any transaction between users, does not hold, transfer or retain funds, and charges no commission. Any purchase, sale or exchange happens directly between users and outside the operator's responsibility. Data protection contact: support@secondbook.kz.

1. General Provisions

1.1. Our Position

SecondBook is a platform for exchanging and selling physical books, as well as listing e-books, between users. We:

• Respect the copyrights of authors, publishers, and other rights holders;
• Do not encourage or allow the distribution of counterfeit products;
• Respond promptly to substantiated copyright infringement complaints;
• Cooperate with rights holders to protect their interests.

1.2. Applicable Legislation

Our policy is based on:

• Law of the Republic of Kazakhstan "On Copyright and Related Rights";
• Berne Convention for the Protection of Literary and Artistic Works;
• Universal Copyright Convention;
• Digital Millennium Copyright Act (DMCA) — for international cases;
• EU Copyright Directive in the Digital Single Market — for EU users.

2. SecondBook Content Rights

2.1. SecondBook Intellectual Property

The following elements are the property of SecondBook and are protected by intellectual property laws:

• Trademarks: the name "SecondBook", logo, slogans;
• Software: website, mobile applications, API;
• Design: interface, graphic elements, icons;
• Databases: catalog structure and organization;
• Content: texts created by SecondBook (help, category descriptions, etc.).

2.2. Prohibited Use

Without written permission from SecondBook, it is prohibited to:

• Copy, modify, or distribute our content;
• Use our trademarks;
• Create derivative works based on our service;
• Use automated means for data collection (scraping);
• Decompile or reverse engineer our software.

3. Book Sales and Exchange

3.1. First Sale Doctrine

SecondBook allows the sale and exchange of:

• Physical books legally purchased by you;
• Books received as gifts;
• Books from your personal library.

3.2. What Is Prohibited

It is prohibited to list on SecondBook:

• Counterfeit books: illegal copies, forgeries;
• Pirated editions: illegally printed copies;
• E-book files you don't have distribution rights to: uploading someone else's e-book file without the right to distribute it is an infringement; when uploading a file, you confirm via a separate checkbox that you are the author or rights holder and entitled to distribute it (see 5.1);
• Scanned books without distribution rights: distributing scans of someone else's books without that right is prohibited;
• Promo copies: books marked "Not for Sale" (unless permitted by publisher);
• Books with removed protection: with DRM tags removed.

3.3. Special Cases

4. Complaint Procedure (DMCA Takedown)

4.1. Notice Requirements

A copyright infringement notice must contain:

1. Work identification: title, author, ISBN (if available), link to original;
2. Infringing material identification: URL of the listing on SecondBook;
3. Complainant contact details: name, address, email, phone;
4. Good faith statement: "I have a good faith belief that the use of the material is not authorized by the copyright owner, its agent, or the law";
5. Accuracy statement: "The information in this notice is accurate, and under penalty of perjury, I state that I am authorized to act on behalf of the copyright owner";
6. Signature: physical or electronic signature of the copyright owner or authorized person.

4.2. Where to Send Complaints

Email: support@secondbook.kz

Subject line: DMCA Takedown Notice — [book title/author]

4.3. Processing Times

4.4. Counter-Notification

If you believe your content was removed in error, you may file a counter-notification containing:

1. Your identification and contact details;
2. Identification of the removed material;
3. Statement under penalty of perjury of good faith mistake;
4. Consent to court jurisdiction;
5. Your signature.

5. User Content

5.1. Your Obligations

By posting content on SecondBook (photos, descriptions, reviews), you warrant that:

• You are the author of the content or have the right to use it;
• The content does not infringe third-party rights;
• You have the right to grant SecondBook a license to use the content.

5.2. License to SecondBook

By posting content, you grant SecondBook:

• Non-exclusive license;
• Royalty-free license;
• Worldwide license;
• To use, copy, modify, publicly display your content;
• For the purposes of operating and promoting the Service.

5.3. Book Photos

When photographing books:

• ✅ Allowed: photos of cover, spine, general condition;
• ✅ Allowed: photos of a few pages to demonstrate condition;
• ❌ Prohibited: photos of entire book contents;
• ❌ Prohibited: publication of book text.

6. Liability

6.1. User Liability

Users bear full responsibility for:

• Legality of books being sold/exchanged;
• Compliance with copyright when posting content;
• Accuracy of information about the source of book acquisition.

6.2. SecondBook Liability

SecondBook:

• Does not proactively verify the legality of each book;
• Acts as an information intermediary;
• Responds to substantiated complaints from rights holders;
• Applies sanctions to violators.

6.3. Sanctions for Violations

7. International Aspects

7.1. Territorial Features

Copyright is territorial in nature. What is legal in one country may be illegal in another. Users must comply with the laws of:

• Their country of residence;
• The country where the buyer is located;
• Kazakhstan (as the operator's country).

7.2. Copyright Duration

8. Frequently Asked Questions

Can I sell a book I purchased?

Yes. The first sale doctrine allows you to resell a legally purchased physical book.

Can I list an e-book?

Yes, if you are the author or rights holder and entitled to distribute it — you confirm this via a separate checkbox when uploading the file. Uploading someone else's e-book that you purchased under an end-user license, without a right to distribute it, is not allowed: that kind of license usually does not grant resale or file-sharing rights, unlike a physical book (see Section 3.1 on the first sale doctrine, which does not apply to files).

What should I do if my listing was removed?

If you believe the removal was in error, file a counter-notification with proof of your rights.

How do I know if a book is counterfeit?

Signs of counterfeits: low print quality, missing ISBN, format inconsistency, suspiciously low price, missing publisher information.

© 2026 SecondBook. All rights reserved.
Document updated: August 21, 2026 | Version: 1.2 | Copyright Policy