Important note
ImgCompliance is not a law firm and this section is not legal advice. If you have received a claim, lawsuit threat, or settlement demand, consider speaking with a qualified attorney before responding.
What is a copyright demand letter?
A demand letter is a formal request to pay money or take an action before the sender escalates, usually to a lawsuit. In image copyright cases it comes from the photographer, a law firm, or a licensing agency such as Getty Images, PicRights, or Copytrack. It claims that an image on your website is used without a license and asks you to pay a license fee or settlement, and often to remove the image.
A demand letter is not a court filing. But it should not be ignored either: for registered works, US statutory damages range from $750 to $30,000 per image and up to $150,000 for willful infringement (17 U.S.C. § 504).
What a typical image demand letter contains
Most image copyright demand letters follow the same structure. Check that yours includes:
- The sender and who they represent (photographer, agency, or rights holder).
- The image in question, usually with a screenshot and the page URL where it was found.
- The date or period the image was detected on your site.
- The claimed basis: ownership or exclusive license, sometimes a registration number.
- The amount demanded and how it was calculated (license fee, damages, costs).
- A deadline and payment instructions, sometimes with a settlement offer.
Missing details – no proof of ownership, a vague image reference, or a URL you cannot verify – are worth noting before you respond. Letters from different senders look different; see the specific guides below for Getty Images, Copytrack, and PicRights.
What to gather before deciding what to do
- The exact image or screenshot referenced in the letter.
- The URL where the image appears or appeared.
- Who added the image: employee, agency, freelancer, theme, plugin, or editor.
- Any stock-photo receipt, license record, contract, or agency handoff document.
- Whether the same image appears on other pages, PDFs, landing pages, or old posts.
How a scan can help
A scan cannot tell you how to respond to a demand letter. It can help you understand whether the named image is isolated or part of a broader pattern on the site. That is useful when reviewing old websites, redesigns, and inherited image libraries.
Official references
For background on U.S. copyright, see the U.S. Copyright Office overview and the Title 17 remedies chapter. These references are general information, not advice for a specific dispute.