Finding an unauthorized use of your photograph on the web is upsetting.  But what can you do about it?  You can contact an attorney for assistance.  But if you haven’t registered your photo in advance of the infringement, then you won’t be eligible for statutory damages.  Attorneys will take such cases on contingency only under certain circumstances.  It then will cost a lot to pursue the infringement when paying the attorney an hourly fee.  In the alternative, you can send a cease and desist and/or a demand for payment yourself to the infringer.   But such letters are often ignored. 

Fortunately, the Digital Millennium Copyright Act (DMCA) gives you another option.  Enacted in 1998, the DMCA implemented treaties signed at the 1996 World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) Geneva conference.  It addresses many issues, one of which affects photographers directly in this situation. The DMCA states that while an Internet Service Provider (ISP) is not liable for transmitting information that may infringe a copyright, the ISP must remove materials from users’ websites that appear to constitute copyright in-fringement after it receives proper notice.

If you find a website that is using one of your images without permission, contact the hosting ISP to report the infringement.  The letter you send is called a “DMCA takedown notice.”  The ISP is required to make its agent’s name and address available so that you can send them notification.  Your copyright does not have to be registered with the U.S. Copyright Office for you to take advantage of this DMCA provision. 

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