All You Need To Know About a Copyright Infringement Notice

If the terms like copyright infringement notice, copyright claim, or DMCA takedown sound familiar, you have likely found yourself in the copyright conundrum—either for violating copyright laws or going after someone for copyright infringement.

Learning how copyright works is essential for any creator, and copyright infringement notices are the main tools that keep the copyright system running. 

What Is a Notice of Copyright Infringement?

A copyright infringement notice is the most powerful tool a creator has for reporting copyright infringement. It’s a legal document the copyright owner can send to the Internet Service Provider (ISP) hosting a website with stolen content. 


For an author, it’s an excellent method to take advantage of DMCA protection and initiate a takedown of stolen content from the website in question. DMCA protection is based on the Digital Millennium Copyright Act (DMCA), one of the most efficient laws in the U.S. when it comes to copyright protection. 

According to this law, an author has automatic copyright over anything they create, and that protection lasts during their lifetime plus 70 years. 

Notice of copyright infringement uses this law as a foundation, but many other elements go into it.

Elements of a Copyright Infringement Notice

When you want to report copyright infringement on YouTube, for example, you file a copyright claim. It’s a form that lets you send a copyright infringement notice by providing you with files you only need to fill out. 

Other major websites have similar methods. They create templates for their takedown notices and allow you to complete a form. 

It simplifies the process, which is important because the notice itself can be incredibly complex. 

Here are the main elements:

Subject Line Words and expressions like Copyright or Copyright Infringement are often placed in the Subject line. The point is to grab the attention of the recipient, but also not to confuse anyone who is not familiar with what DMCA is
Authors Contact Details They are added so that the ISP can contact the copyright owner without difficulties
Link to the Infringing Content Includes links leading to the stolen content. 

Sometimes, there are multiple locations if the content is placed on different pages
Proof of the Ownership This is usually a copyright certificate if the author has registered their content with the U.S. Copyright Office. 

It can also be a link to the original content. If there is a copyright notice placed in the footer, it can help serve as proof of ownership
A Statement of Good Faith The copyright owner has to proclaim that the content is posted on the infringing website without his or her permission
An Accuracy Statement The copyright owner has to state under the penalty of perjury that everything mentioned in the notice is true

Should I Be Worried About a Copyright Infringement Notice?

Any website owner can inadvertently infringe on someone else’s content. You should take every precaution to avoid infringing on someone’s copyright, but you could still end up with a copyright infringement notice despite all the effort. 

Don’t panic, but don’t take the situation lightly, either. 

Here are some tips on what you could do:

  • Check if the notice is legit—Look for the sender’s info and make sure you haven’t been targeted by a scammer
  • Look at the content the notice identifies as stolen—Determine whether you committed the violation
  • Make sure that there is proof of ownership within the letter—If there is no proof, contact the sender and ask for one
  • Reply to the notice—Either let them know that you have taken down the content or send them the proof that you have the license to use it. Don’t ignore the notice, or you may get sued

How To Create a Copyright Infringement Notice With DoNotPay

If someone steals your content, sending a takedown notice is the most effective way to remove it. Note that the ISP will not consider any halfway done document. All the essential parts must be incorporated and properly written. 

DoNotPay can help with that. Our award-winning app is specialized in creating professional-looking documents in no time. The notice will fit your case specifically, and you can generate it by answering a few questions.

Here is how to file a DMCA notice with our app:

  1. Access DoNotPay from your web browser
  2. Click on the DMCA Takedown feature
  3. Type in the title of your content
  4. Paste the link to the website hosting your content without consent
  5. Paste the link to the website where you posted the content originally
  6. Click on the Sign and Submit button

Other Methods of Protecting Your Content

Before filing a copyright infringement notice, there are a few steps you can take to deter potential thieves. 

Two main aspects of copyright protection are:

  1. Adding a copyright notice to your website
  2. Registering your content with the U.S. Copyright Office.

How Is a Copyright Notice Different From the Copyright Infringement Notice?

Don’t let the similar-sounding terms confuse you. Whereas a copyright infringement notice serves to take down content already stolen from you, a copyright notice is meant to prevent it from ever happening. 

A copyright notice is a short text stating your ownership over the content, as well as the publication year. You can place it on the footer of the website.

It serves to let the public know that the content is copyright protected. 

Why Should I Register a Copyright? 

Registering a copyright with the U.S. Copyright Office is the only way to create a public record of your ownership over the content. 

It’s not mandatory, but it is a recommended step. In case you want to report copyright infringement, including a copyright certificate would significantly improve your chances of taking down the content. 

You should also note that without registering your content, you cannot file a lawsuit against people who stole your intellectual property.

The U.S. Copyright office allows you to register your work either online or via mail. 

The online option is significantly cheaper, but in some cases, you will have to send hard copies of your work by post anyway. 

DoNotPay Is the Perfect Tool To Help You Protect Your Content and More!

DoNotPay can teach you how to copyright any content, including documents, videos, scripts, books, video games, poems, images, and even recipes. 

We can explain how to copyright your artwork and how platforms like Facebook and Instagram deal with copyright. 

With our help, you can learn about the cost of copyrighting and how high copyright infringement penalties are in case you get sued. 

Our app is capable of so much more than providing copyright protection. Check out our features by accessing DoNotPay from your web browser.

Discover how we can take over tasks like: