Content Policy
Creating a safe and inclusive space for all writers and readers
Our Mission
Here at OpenLeaf we want to encourage a diverse range of writing, creating a place where readers and writers can feel at home, no matter their genre. That said, there is some content we cannot allow on our platform for ethical and/or legal reasons.
Hate Speech/Bigotry
We do not tolerate any form of racism, homophobia, transphobia, ableism, misogyny, religious intolerance, or any other expression of hate/dehumanisation based on identity, belief, or background.
Authors are well within their rights to explore and discuss these themes in their works and commenters are likewise encouraged to engage with the themes presented if they wish to. That said, there's a line between thoughtful discussion and actively harmful rhetoric. We fully reserve the right to ban works if we deem that they are promoting hate speech.
NSFW Content
At this present time, NSFW content is not allowed on OpenLeaf due to concerns about content moderation. We hope to open ourselves up to NSFW content in the future once we have the resources to safely and responsibly handle moderating this type of content.
Current Guidelines:
- •Authors are not allowed to post sexually explicit works - references to sex are fine but graphic depictions are not.
- •Depictions of violence are allowed, although we encourage users to think tactfully about their use of content warnings before presenting readers with potentially upsetting material.
Copyrighted Material
To comply with UK Fair dealing, any work that uses copyrighted material, without explicit evidenced permission or exemption, must not be uploaded to the site as 'Original work', and cannot be monetised. We recommend uploading such work as 'Fanfiction'.
Examples of copyrighted material include:
Exact wording / passages
e.g. Copying whole sentences, paragraphs, or dialogue verbatim.
Characters with distinctive traits
Sherlock Holmes (before 2023 copyright expiry in the U.S.), Harry Potter, etc.
Unique fictional worlds / settings
Hogwarts, Middle-earth, Narnia — the specific descriptions, maps, and lore.
Plot and structure (if very specific)
Retelling The Da Vinci Code beat-for-beat is copyright infringement, even if you change the names.
Poetry, song lyrics, prayers, spells
A wizard's chant or a poem in a novel is fully protected.
Illustrations, diagrams, cover art
Even if included inside the book, the artwork itself is separately protected.
You are not allowed to use copyrighted artwork for your book cover unless you have the explicit permission of the creator.
While we allow and encourage fanfiction on our site, we do not allow plagiarism. Your book must be your original text.
If you are using/referencing copyrighted IP in the context of fanfiction, your book must be marked as such and cannot be monetized. All fanfiction must be strictly non-profit.
You are allowed to upload/make use of creative commons/public domain works however you please so long as the original creator is properly credited e.g. you're welcome to upload Oliver Twist, so long as it is correctly credited. That said, we may remove duplicate posts of the same public domain works if those duplicates do not bring additional value (new illustrations, a new translation, etc).
If you've added transformative elements to a public domain work you must credit both yourself and the original author if you've used parts of the original text.
Important Notice
OpenLeaf reserves the right to remove content from the site at any time, but will always aim to give a clear explanation. We strongly recommend keeping backups of your work.