How to File a DMCA Takedown for Stolen Product Photos (With Template)

You spent a day and a budget on a product shoot, and a week later the same photos turn up on a marketplace listing selling a cheaper copy of your dress. The fastest legal tool most brands have is a DMCA takedown notice. It costs nothing to send, every major platform has a process for it, and when it is done properly the stolen images can come down quickly. Done badly, it gets ignored or invites a damages claim. This guide covers who can send one, what it must contain, where to send it, what happens if the other side fights back, and a template.

Short answer: A DMCA takedown is a written notice under 17 U.S.C. section 512(c)(3) asking a platform or host to remove material that infringes your copyright. It must include your signature, the work copied, the infringing URL, your contact details, a good faith statement and a statement under penalty of perjury that you are authorised. Send it to the platform’s designated agent or its copyright form.

Key takeaways

• Only the copyright owner, an exclusive licensee or someone authorised to act for them can send a valid DMCA takedown, so check who owns the photos before you file.
• Section 512(c)(3) lists six elements. Miss the important ones and the platform can treat your notice as if it was never received.
• If the uploader sends a counter-notice, the platform can restore the photos 10 to 14 business days later unless you tell it you have sued, and you cannot sue in the US until the photos are registered.
• Knowingly false notices create liability under section 512(f), and the Ninth Circuit has said senders must consider fair use first.

What is a DMCA takedown notice?

It is the request that drives the “notice and takedown” system in section 512 of the US Copyright Act, added by the Digital Millennium Copyright Act of 1998. Section 512 gives online service providers, such as social networks, marketplaces and hosts, a safe harbour from copyright damages for material their users upload, provided they act quickly to remove material once they receive a proper notice. Ignoring a valid notice puts that safe harbour at risk.

A takedown is not a lawsuit. It works best for clear cases, such as a seller lifting your exact e-commerce images; if the other side claims a licence, you may need a lawyer. FLJ’s guide to copyright infringement in fashion explains how courts assess copying more generally.

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Who owns your product photos, the brand or the photographer?

Check this first, because only the owner of an exclusive right, or someone authorised to act for that owner, can sign a valid notice. Under US law, the photographer owns the copyright unless one of two rules applies.

The first is the work made for hire rule. If an employee shoots the photos as part of their regular duties, the employer is treated as the author. The second route covers commissioned work, but only for nine listed categories, such as a contribution to a collective work, a compilation or part of an audiovisual work, and only where both sides sign a written agreement saying the work is made for hire. The Copyright Office sets these out in Circular 30. A typical freelance product shoot does not fit neatly into those categories, so in many cases the freelance photographer still owns the copyright.

If you want to own the images, your contract needs a written, signed assignment of copyright, because section 204(a) of the Copyright Act requires transfers of ownership to be in writing. If you only have a licence, look at its terms. An exclusive licensee holds an exclusive right and can send a notice in its own name. A non-exclusive licensee generally cannot, but the photographer can authorise the brand to act on their behalf. FLJ covers the contract side in five clauses missing from freelance designer contracts, and the same logic applies to model test shoots, as our piece on who owns modeling digitals shows.

What must a DMCA takedown notice include?

Section 512(c)(3)(A) says a notice must be a written communication to the provider’s designated agent that includes “substantially” the six elements below. You can read the full wording at 17 U.S.C. section 512 on Cornell’s Legal Information Institute.

Section 512(c)(3)(B) explains why precision matters. A notice that fails to comply substantially is not counted when deciding whether the provider knew about the infringement. If you get elements (ii), (iii) and (iv) right but miss others, the provider is expected to try to contact you to fix the gaps before it can ignore the notice. The single most common failure in practice is element (iii): a vague pointer to “the seller’s store” rather than the exact URLs.

Where do you send a DMCA takedown?

To the service provider that hosts the copy, not to the person who stole it. You can write to the infringer as well, but only the provider’s removal is backed by the safe harbour system. For the big platforms, use their own forms, because they route notices faster than emails.

• Instagram and Facebook: Meta runs a copyright report form inside each app’s Help Centre. Report each post URL separately.
• Amazon: rights owners who are not enrolled in Brand Registry can use the Report Infringement form. Enrolled brands use the Report a Violation tool, which FLJ explains in its Amazon Brand Registry guide.
• Shopify stores: Shopify has a copyright reporting page in its legal centre for content on stores it hosts.
• Etsy: listings go through the Etsy Reporting Portal. Etsy’s IP policy says it may give the seller a copy of the report, including your name and email address, so use a business contact.
• Google: to remove copied images from search results or Google services, use Google’s legal removal request process.

For an independent website, find out who hosts it and look the host up in the Copyright Office’s DMCA Designated Agent Directory. Providers register agents there for a $6 fee, and a designation expires after three years unless it is renewed, so a missing or lapsed entry is itself useful information. If no agent is listed, use the host’s abuse or legal contact.

What does a DMCA takedown template look like?

Use the template for email notices or paste its parts into a platform form. Fill in every bracket and, if you act for a photographer, say so.

To: [Designated agent name, service provider, email from the DMCA directory or website]
Subject: DMCA notice of copyright infringement under 17 U.S.C. 512(c)(3)

1. Copyrighted work: Product photographs of [product name, SKU or collection],
   first published at [URL of original image or product page] on [date].
   [Copyright registration number, if registered.]

2. Infringing material: The following URLs display copies of these photographs
   without permission:
   [URL 1]
   [URL 2]
   Please remove or disable access to this material.

3. Contact details: [Full name], [title], [company], [postal address],
   [telephone], [email].

4. I have a good faith belief that use of the material in the manner complained
   of is not authorized by the copyright owner, its agent, or the law.

5. The information in this notification is accurate, and under penalty of
   perjury, I am the owner, or authorized to act on behalf of the owner, of an
   exclusive right that is allegedly infringed.

Signed: [typed full name]
Date: [date]

Keep screenshots of each infringing page with the date and URL visible before you send anything. If the copier cropped out your watermark or deleted the photographer credit, note that too. Removing copyright management information can be a separate violation under section 1202 of the Copyright Act.

What happens if the seller files a counter-notice?

The uploader can push back. A counter-notice under section 512(g)(3) must be signed, identify the removed material and where it appeared, state under penalty of perjury that it was removed by mistake or misidentification, and include the uploader’s name, address and phone number with consent to the jurisdiction of a US federal court. The platform then sends you a copy and tells you it will restore the material in 10 business days.

Under section 512(g)(2)(C), the provider restores the material not less than 10 and not more than 14 business days after receiving the counter-notice, unless its designated agent first hears from you that you have filed an action seeking a court order against the uploader. Etsy’s policy reflects the same rule, restoring material after 10 business days unless the rights owner takes legal action and tells Etsy. In plain terms, a counter-notice gives you roughly two weeks to sue or lose the takedown.

Do you need a copyright registration to stop a repeat copier?

Not to send a takedown, but yes to sue in the US. Section 411(a) bars most infringement suits over US works until registration “has been made”. In Fourth Estate Public Benefit Corp. v. Wall-Street.com, decided unanimously on 4 March 2019, the Supreme Court held that registration occurs when the Copyright Office registers the copyright, not when you file the application. The Court noted that processing then averaged about seven months, and that special handling for pending or prospective litigation costs an extra $800 and aims for examination within five working days.

Timing matters for money as well. Under section 412, statutory damages and attorney’s fees are generally unavailable for infringement that began before registration, unless you register within three months of first publication. Statutory damages under section 504(c) range from $750 to $30,000 per work, rising to $150,000 for wilful infringement. The Copyright Office’s current fee list puts a group registration of published photographs at $55, which makes registering each product shoot as it goes live cheap insurance. FLJ’s guide to copyright registration for fashion designers walks through the forms.

Can sending a DMCA takedown backfire?

Yes. Section 512(f) makes anyone who “knowingly materially misrepresents” that material is infringing liable for damages, including costs and attorney’s fees, suffered by the person whose content was removed. In Lenz v. Universal Music Corp. (2015), a case about a home video that used part of a Prince song, the Ninth Circuit held that the DMCA requires copyright holders to consider fair use before sending a takedown notification. A rights holder who skips that step risks a claim.

For stolen product photos used to sell a competing or counterfeit product, fair use is unlikely. The risk rises when the “copy” is a review, news report, resale listing of your genuine product or commentary. Our explainer on whether runway photos are copyrighted covers where press and editorial use sit.

What are the EU and UK equivalents of a DMCA takedown?

In the EU, Article 16 of the Digital Services Act (Regulation (EU) 2022/2065) requires hosting services to offer notice and action mechanisms. A notice should contain a substantiated explanation of why the content is illegal, the exact electronic location such as the URL, the name and email address of the person submitting it, and a statement of bona fide belief that the notice is accurate and complete. Platforms must process notices in a timely, diligent, non-arbitrary and objective manner. A well-drafted DMCA notice adapts easily to this format.

The UK did not adopt the DSA. Hosts there rely on regulation 19 of the Electronic Commerce (EC Directive) Regulations 2002, which protects a host only if it lacks actual knowledge of unlawful material or acts expeditiously to remove it once it knows. A clear written notice with URLs and proof of ownership gives the host that knowledge. For a lower-cost enforcement routine overall, see how small designers protect their work without big budgets.

This article is general information, not legal advice.

Frequently asked questions

How long does a DMCA takedown take?

Section 512 requires providers to act “expeditiously” but sets no fixed number of days, so timing varies by platform. If a counter-notice arrives, the material can return 10 to 14 business days later unless you tell the provider you have sued.

Can I send a DMCA takedown if a freelancer took my product photos?

Only if you own the copyright through a signed written assignment, hold an exclusive licence, or the photographer authorises you to act for them. Without one of those, the photographer is usually the owner and should send the notice or sign an authorisation.

Do I need to register my photos before sending a DMCA notice?

No. Registration is not one of the section 512(c)(3) elements. You do need a registration before suing over a US work, and early registration preserves statutory damages and attorney’s fees under section 412.

Is a DMCA takedown valid outside the United States?

The DMCA is US law, but most global platforms accept the same notice worldwide. In the EU, Article 16 of the Digital Services Act sets similar notice requirements, and UK hosts rely on the hosting defence in the 2002 e-commerce regulations.

Will the seller see my name and email?

Often, yes. Etsy says it may give the reported member a copy of the report with your name and email address, and the counter-notice process depends on the uploader being able to contact you. Use a business address rather than a personal one.

What if the platform ignores my DMCA takedown?

Check that your notice included every element, especially the exact URLs, then resend it to the designated agent listed in the Copyright Office directory.