Important note
This is practical information, not legal advice. ImgCompliance is not affiliated with Higbee & Associates or its clients. Because this letter comes from a law firm, involve your own copyright lawyer early.
What the letter usually contains
- The photographer or image owner the firm represents and the image in question.
- Evidence of use: URL, screenshot, and sometimes the dates it was found.
- A settlement amount and a deadline to respond.
- A reference to US copyright law, often including statutory damages.
1. Secure the facts
- Find the exact page and image named in the letter, and note when it was published.
- Save the letter, screenshots, and the page as it currently looks before you change it.
- Check where else the image appears: other pages, feeds, PDFs, social previews.
- Write down who added the image and where it came from, as far as you know.
2. Find license evidence
Search stock photo accounts, invoices, and emails, and ask any agency or freelancer who worked on the site for the license for this image and this use. Keep everything you find in one place for your lawyer.
3. Get legal advice before the deadline
Whether statutory damages can apply, whether the amount is reasonable, and how to respond depend on facts such as copyright registration, license history, and how the image was used. A copyright lawyer can assess this; do not sign or pay before you understand your position.
4. Check the rest of your site now
Photographers represented by law firms often have large portfolios, and a site that used one of their images may use others. A free ImgCompliance scan checks up to 100 images with a reverse image search and verifies stock matches against the original file. The full report lists every image with its source and a recommended action – useful material for your lawyer.
Related resources
See also the checklists for a Getty Images demand letter, a Pixsy letter and the website image audit guide.