DMCA TakeDown Notice: How I got stolen photos removed from the wrong websites
Have you ever taken a picture and posted it on the web only to find later, that people have stolen your image and have used it for their own ends? I have and here is how I dealt with these ‘leeches’.
A ‘leech’ is someone who will try to profit or benefit from your work without paying you for the rights to the photograph. In the US, there is an act called the DMCA or Digital Millennium Copyright Act that makes it illegal for people to steal the digital work of another person. The stolen work is not always or only a photograph, it can be text, videos, graphics, music, programs, applications, etc. In many cases, the leeches will change the image file name and the dimensions of the image, making it almost impossible to find with services like TinEye that do reverse image lookups on the Internet.
In my case, the only way I finally found that my images had been stolen and used by various leeches, is when I did a Google search for “photography” and found my image as the number three result. When I found that my images were being used illegally, I took the appropriate steps to get it removed from as many sites as I could find. This required that I file a DMCA notice with the hosting service or ISP of the infringing sites.
If at all possible, find a professional to do the work for you. There is a proper way in which things must be done in order to have a successful DMCA takedown occur. I contacted the hosting service of the offending sites here in the US and filed a DMCA takedown notice with them. As a result, I got the stolen images taken down from the two main offending sites. The website owners had to choose one of two options; either take down the images voluntarily or the ISP would takedown the entire site forcibly. They chose to voluntarily taken the images down.
In my case, the stolen images ended up pretty high on the search results page with Google, and I was able to deal effectively with the leeches that had stolen my images because their hosting services resided within the US where the DMCA is law. However, my images are still being used by others that do not have hosting services in places that honor DMCA, making it almost impossible to enforce my copyright.
There is also a story of an individual that really had his image stolen and used by a host of people. He has missed out on hundreds of thousands, possibly millions of dollars because of such theft. His name is Noam Galai and his story is about the Stolen Scream. He posted some pictures on Flickr that he had taken of himself only to find, nearly two years later, that his image was being sold on T-shirts and myriad other items all over the world.
I take pride in the images I create. I work hard to create them. I have taken years to develop the skills I need to produce them. There is no reason that I should let another use them illegally. Neither should you. Learn more about what you can do to protect your images from theft and illegal use. While some people find it flattering that other like their images enough to put them on their site, it is still theft. If someone wants to use your image, it is up to you whether you charge for its use or not. At least you are left with a choice. If you find your images have been stolen or used without your permission, then you have a responsibility to do your best to get the offending images taken down from the web. If you don’t, then you just might end up with a story like Noam instead of one like mine.
My sample take down notice looks like this:
My name is Sandro Dzneladze and I am the Photographer of www.sandrophoto.com. A website that your company hosts (according to WHOIS information) is infringing on at least one copyright owned by my company.
Photo was copied onto your servers without permission. The original PHOTO, to which I own the exclusive copyrights, can be found at:
http://www.sandrophoto.com/2007/10/24/black-and-white/
The unauthorized and infringing copy can be found at:
http://www.torfehgroup.com/en/photography.php
This letter is official notification under Section 512(c) of the Digital Millennium Copyright Act (”DMCA”), and I seek the removal of the aforementioned infringing material from your servers. I request that you immediately notify the infringer of this notice and inform them of their duty to remove the infringing material immediately, and notify them to cease any further posting of infringing material to your server in the future.
Please also be advised that law requires you, as a service provider, to remove or disable access to the infringing materials upon receiving this notice. Under US law a service provider, such as yourself, enjoys immunity from a copyright lawsuit provided that you act with deliberate speed to investigate and rectify ongoing copyright infringement. If service providers do not investigate and remove or disable the infringing material this immunity is lost. Therefore, in order for you to remain immune from a copyright infringement action you will need to investigate and ultimately remove or otherwise disable the infringing material from your servers with all due speed should the direct infringer, your client, not comply immediately.
I am providing this notice in good faith and with the reasonable belief that rights my company owns are being infringed. Under penalty of perjury I certify that the information contained in the notification is both true and accurate, and I have the authority to act on behalf of the owner of the copyright(s) involved.
Should you wish to discuss this with me please contact me directly.
Thank you.
Sandro Dzneladze
Address: Via Ruggero Bonghi 21
Milano, 20141
+393930017800
me@sandrophoto.com
There are 6 comments on this post.
Trackback URL | Comments RSS FeedMy question is how do you prove it and make sure you win the DMCA?
Ammer, most of the time you don’t have to prove anything. But in case you get asked, here are few considerations for you…
#1. Show original.
You are the only one who has original file, right? (You should never publish original photo on the web, always downsize and compress).
#2. Embed copyright info in EXIF
While it’s easy to strip file of exif data, allot of people don’t know how to do this, use this in your advantage.
#3. Remove camera data from EXIF
Strip photos of EXIF data specific to the shot, such as – aperture – exposure – lens / camera info. Keep this information for yourself in originals, and use it as a proof.
Sandro, I do the similar:
1. Always add visible watermarks using Photoshop.
2. Add copyright and contact info into EXIF and IPTC fields.
3. Usually remove technical info with the help of EXIFCleaner — http://www.superutils.com/products/exifcleaner/
4. Always post not bigger than 800×600.
A person took a few pics of me a few years ago. She now has them on a photography website. I did NOT give her permission to post these. She supposedly deleted them. What can I do? What are my rights? I think she has a copyright on that and maybe other pics of me. I need help and legal advice.
Hey there (sdgd81), don’t worry we will find a solution
One of the biggest mistake photographers make is to believe that they can use images however they wish… well, it’s not that simple…
Did you sign any document? Photographers use “model release form” to acquire permission from their models. Without this document you can demand money or removal of your photos… (copyright isn’t relevant in this situation)
Rules vary greatly from country to country, so make sure what I’m talking about is applicable to you.
Best of luck,
sandro
hi there please email me of how i can get my photos taken down as they were posted without my persmission. the email of the dmca take downs does not seem to be going through.
reply asap please.