What to Do When You Get a Copyright Claim
You used stock photos on your website in good faith — and now an email arrives saying you may owe money for an image. Services like Copytrack, Pixsy, and others monitor the web and contact site owners when they believe an image wasn't properly licensed.
If you did license the image, you usually just need to send proof. The problem is finding that proof: some stock platforms give you a PDF certificate, others only show licence details on a web page, and none of them make it easy to search across thousands of past downloads.
Watch out for fake claims. Scammers send convincing copyright notices hoping you'll pay without checking. Before you respond or pay anything: inspect the sender's email domain, hover over links before clicking, search for the company name plus "scam" or "legitimate", and confirm the company exists on their official website. Check that links point to the official company website, not a lookalike domain with an extra letter or hyphen. When in doubt, do not pay — ask a lawyer first.
What to do — in four steps
1. Verify the notice is real
Check the sender's domain, look up the company on their official website, and never click suspicious payment links. Fake copyright claims are common — treat urgency and threats as a red flag until you've confirmed the sender is legitimate.
2. Identify the image and where you got it
The notice should tell you which URL and image are flagged. Match it to a stock platform account — Shutterstock, Adobe Stock, 123RF, Freepik, or wherever you sourced it.
Find your licence proof
Log into the stock platform where you downloaded the image (Shutterstock, 123RF, Adobe Stock, Freepik, etc.) and look for the licence or download history for that asset. Some platforms give you a PDF certificate; others only show licence details on a web page — so finding proof can be quick or surprisingly tedious, depending on the platform.
If you already have a LicenceDownloader backup, search your ZIP archive for the filename or asset ID. Your certificate is already there — no logging in, no clicking through download history page by page.
Send proof and keep records
Reply with your licence certificate or screenshot of licence details, keep a copy of your response, and note any deadline they gave you. If you had a valid licence, that is usually the end of it.
Guides by service
Different monitoring companies work differently. Pick the one named in your notice:
- What to do when you get a Copytrack notice — Copytrack is a German image-rights company that monitors the web for unlicensed use of photos and videos.
- What to do when you get a Pixsy notice — Pixsy is an image monitoring platform used mainly by professional photographers to find where their work appears online.
- What to do when you get a Lenstracer notice — Lenstracer is a web monitoring tool used by photo agencies and large image libraries to track where their assets appear online.
- What to do when you get a ImageTrace notice — ImageTrace is a reverse-image-search and monitoring service aimed at photographers and creators who want to track unauthorised use of their work.
- What to do when you get a PhotoClaim notice — PhotoClaim is a service that helps photographers find infringing uses of their images and recover licensing fees.
- What to do when you get a Image Protect notice — Image Protect works with stock agencies and publishers to monitor where their catalogue images appear online without a valid licence.
- What to do when you get a Red Points notice — Red Points is an enterprise brand-protection company that also monitors visual content alongside counterfeits and trademark misuse.
- What to do when you get a Digimarc notice — Digimarc embeds invisible watermarks in images so rights holders can track where those assets travel across the internet.
- What to do when you get a Pointer Brand Protection notice — Pointer Brand Protection specialises in anti-counterfeiting and IP enforcement for luxury brands and high-value rights holders.
- What to do when you get a Corsearch notice — Corsearch is a large corporate brand-protection firm that helps companies monitor and enforce their intellectual property online.
Important: This guide is informational, not legal advice. If you're unsure whether you had a valid licence, or if the notice demands a large settlement, consult a qualified IP lawyer in your jurisdiction.
Be ready before the next notice arrives
LicenceDownloader backs up every licence certificate from your stock accounts into one organised ZIP — so when Copytrack, Pixsy, or anyone else asks for proof, you reply in minutes.
Get licence backup“Thanks to LicenceDownloader.com, I was able to download more than 1,000 Freepik licences and receive them all at once via ZIP.”
Marlon Mainardy