I Got A Copyright Infringement Letter: What’s Really Going On and What You Should Do

If you’ve been hit with an email demanding you “prove you own an image” or pay licensing fees, you’re not alone. Companies like Copytrack and a bunch of others have made this a routine part of how they deliver copyright enforcement notices. Many website owners and businesses understandably feel like it’s “guilty until proven innocent.”

Who Are These Companies?

Copytrack is one of the larger players in the so-called image rights space:

• They scan millions of images online and compare them against a database they’ve built. If their software thinks it finds a match, they trigger automated emails.
• They position themselves as enforcing rights on behalf of photographers, artists, and stock providers globally.
• They aren’t a law firm (though they may work with partner lawyers) and they don’t directly sue you, but they can escalate to legal enforcement through affiliate attorneys.

Similar companies and systems include Pixsy, ImageRights, PicRights, and others that send copyright demand letters telling someone they’ve allegedly used an image without permission and need to pay up. Or, “they think you might have used an image without consent, so prove you haven’t.”

Why It Feels Like “Guilty Until Proven Innocent”

Here’s the reality:

• These systems are automated and operate at scale. Many letters are triggered without a human checking your situation first.
• The initial contact often assumes you don’t have a license and pushes you to either pay or “upload proof.”
• Some recipients report requests that lack basic documentation of rights ownership, meaning the enforcement company doesn’t even have solid proof that the party they represent owns the copyright.
• Because these demands can include phrases about legal consequences, it feels like a threat, even if there’s no lawsuit yet.

There are even online discussions alleging Copytrack operates borderline like a copyright enforcement mill, with many similar complaints about automated claims and lack of transparency, although these are community reports and not formal legal findings.

IMPORTANT: These Letters Aren’t Automatic Lawsuits

A copyright demand letter, including those from Copytrack or similar services, is not a court filing. It’s a claim, not evidence accepted by a judge.

They may escalate to legal action through partner attorneys, but that requires a separate step.

What You Could Do If You Get One of These Letters

1. Stay Calm and Don’t Panic

These letters can be frightening, but they don’t automatically mean you owe money or will be sued.

2. Verify the Claim’s Legitimacy

Before doing anything:

• Check whether the company actually owns or represents the rights holder.
• Ask them to provide proof of ownership and chain of rights, not just an automated screenshot. Legitimate rights holders should be able to show this.
• Do a reverse image search yourself to see where the image actually comes from.

A short, factual response puts the burden back where it belongs: on them.

3. Check Your Records

See if you legitimately licensed the image from a stock provider or creator. In many cases, your marketing agency will have purchased the image on your behalf. We always purchase or use other professionally licensed image platforms for client work. However, until recently, we did not routinely download or store licence certificates or proof of purchase for each image.

We are now changing our internal processes to ensure licence documentation is retained going forward, specifically to better protect our clients.

It’s also important to understand that this is a relatively new issue across the industry. Staff turnover, changing logins, multiple stock image platforms, and evolving workflows mean this level of record-keeping simply hasn’t been common practice for marketing agencies in the past. With the rise of automated copyright enforcement platforms, that is now starting to change.

4. Don’t Just Pay Without Proof

These companies often request payment first and let you prove your license later. That’s backward. Always request legitimacy before making any payment.

5. Take the Image Down If It’s Unlicensed

If there’s no valid license, removing the image mitigates risk and can resolve the issue without payment.

6. Consider Legal Advice

Especially if:

• The amount demanded is large
• The image is central to your business
• You’re unsure about the copyright status

A lawyer who understands copyright enforcement letters can help you craft a response or negotiate.

A Note on “Copyright Trolls”

Many legal professionals use the term “copyright troll” for enforcement parties that:

• Send mass letters based on automated scans
• Demand money without clear evidence
• Hope recipients pay because they don’t want to deal with it

This isn’t a legal term but it’s widely used in the industry.

These copyright demand letters aren’t inherently scams, licensing and copyright enforcement are real legal issues, but the way they’re executed often puts small businesses and marketers in a defensive, reactive position. You shouldn’t be bullied into payment without:

• Clear evidence
• Proof of rights ownership
• Your own documentation

Respond with due diligence, and always verify legitimacy before handing over money.