Someone Stole Your Work Online: What to Do Next

First, Confirm What You’re Actually Looking At

Before you do anything else, slow down. Finding your artwork, photography, writing, or music on someone else’s site is upsetting, and that emotional jolt can push you toward hasty action. Take a breath and look at the situation clearly.

Ask yourself:

• Is this an exact copy, or a derivative work that might fall under fair use or a license you granted?
• Did you ever give this person or platform permission, even informally, like in a comment thread or old email?
• Is the material actually yours, or could it be a stock asset, a collaboration, or something in the public domain?

This matters because formal copyright complaints carry legal weight. Filing one against something you don’t actually own, or something covered by a license you forgot about, can create real problems for you. Confirm your ownership first.

Check Your Own Records

Pull up your original files. Look at creation dates, metadata, drafts, or source layers. If you post work-in-progress shots on social media, those timestamps are useful evidence of authorship. Gather this before you contact anyone.

Document Everything Before You Reach Out

Once you’re confident the work is yours and being used without permission, build a simple evidence file. This protects you if the dispute escalates and speeds up any formal process later.

• Screenshot the infringing page, including the URL bar and any visible date or timestamp.
• Save the direct URL to the infringing content, not just the homepage.
• Note the date you discovered it.
• Screenshot your own original posting or file, with its date if possible.
• If the site has a “contact us” or “about” page, save that too. It may help you identify who actually runs it.

Store all of this in a dated folder. If the infringing content disappears before you finish your process, you still have proof it existed.

Start With a Direct, Low-Friction Approach

Not every case needs a legal notice right away. A short, professional message is often faster and preserves goodwill, especially if the other party is another independent creator rather than a large company.

What to Include in a Direct Message

• A clear statement that you are the creator of the work
• The specific URL or location of the content in question
• A link or reference to your original work
• What you want them to do: remove it, credit you, or license it properly
• A reasonable deadline, such as five to seven business days

Keep the tone firm but not hostile. Many infringements come from people who don’t fully understand licensing, not from bad actors. A calm, specific request often resolves things without further steps.

If you get no response, or the person refuses and continues using the work, move to a formal notice.

Understand the Formal Takedown Process

In the United States, copyright holders can use the Digital Millennium Copyright Act (DMCA) process to request removal of infringing content from websites, hosting providers, and platforms. This law gives online services a way to respond to infringement claims without becoming liable themselves, as long as they follow the required steps.

A formal DMCA takedown notice is a written request sent to the website operator or, more commonly, to their hosting provider or the platform hosting the content (like a social network, marketplace, or website host). It must include specific elements to be valid.

What a Valid Notice Needs

• Identification of your copyrighted work, described clearly enough that it can’t be confused with something else
• The specific location of the infringing material, ideally a direct URL
• Your contact information, including your full legal name and a way to reach you
• A statement that you have a good faith belief the use is not authorized by you, your agent, or the law
• A statement, under penalty of perjury, that the information in the notice is accurate and that you are the copyright owner or authorized to act on their behalf
• Your physical or electronic signature

Leaving out any of these elements can cause your notice to be rejected or ignored, so it helps to write it carefully rather than rushing.

Find the Right Place to Send Your Notice

This step trips up a lot of people. You don’t always send a DMCA notice to the person who posted the content. You send it to whoever can actually remove it.

Where to Look

• Check the website’s footer or a page titled “DMCA,” “Copyright Policy,” or “Legal” for a designated contact.
• If there’s no listed contact, look up the site’s hosting provider using a WHOIS lookup tool.
• For content on large platforms (social media, marketplaces, video sites), use their built-in copyright reporting form instead of email. Most major platforms have a dedicated process that’s faster than a general notice.
• If a domain registrar or CDN is involved and the host is unresponsive, you can sometimes escalate to them as a last resort.

Many companies designate a specific copyright agent and address for these notices. Look for this information before assuming you should just email general customer support, since that often delays response times.

What Happens After You Send a Notice

Once a valid notice reaches the right party, they typically have a process for reviewing and acting on it. Reasonable timeframes vary, but many hosts and platforms aim to respond within a few business days to two weeks.

The person who posted the content usually has a right to submit a “counter-notice” if they believe the takedown was made in error. If that happens, the material may be reinstated after a waiting period unless you pursue the matter in court. This is part of the legal balance built into the process, so don’t be alarmed if you see a counter-notice option mentioned; it doesn’t mean your claim was wrong.

Protect Yourself Going Forward

Once the immediate issue is resolved, take a few steps to reduce future headaches.

• Add visible copyright notices or watermarks to work you share publicly, especially preview or portfolio images.
• Keep organized records of creation dates for your work, including drafts and source files.
• Register significant works with your country’s copyright office where that option exists and is affordable, since registration can strengthen your position in a dispute.
• Set up periodic reverse image searches or text searches for your most valuable work so you catch infringement early.
• Write down your own personal process for handling these situations so you’re not starting from scratch every time.

When to Get Outside Help

Most infringement cases resolve at the direct message or notice stage. But if you’re dealing with repeated infringement, a company profiting significantly from your work, or a counter-notice you don’t know how to respond to, it’s worth talking to an attorney who handles intellectual property. A short consultation can clarify your options before you invest more time or risk a misstep in a more complex dispute.

Protecting your creative work is an ongoing part of running a sustainable creative business, not a one-time task. Building a simple, repeatable process now means less stress the next time it happens.

For the complete, structured playbook on this topic, see DMCA Notice and Takedown in our library. New here? Start with our free guide.