DMCA takedown notice template for artists

US law (17 U.S.C. 512(c)(3)) lists six things. The template below follows them in order:

1. A signature of the owner or a person authorised to act for them. An electronic signature is allowed.
2. Identification of your work. If one notice covers several works on a single site, a representative list is enough.
3. Identification of the material, with information reasonably sufficient for the platform to find it: in practice, the exact URL of each listing.
4. Your contact details: an address, a telephone number and, if available, an email address.
5. A good-faith statement that the use is not authorised by the owner, its agent or the law.
6. An accuracy statement, under penalty of perjury, that the information is accurate and that you are authorised to act for the owner.

Copy it, replace everything in square brackets, and delete any line that does not apply. It is a starting point, not a form that makes a notice valid by itself.

Subject: Copyright infringement notice (DMCA) - [name of your work]

To the Designated Copyright Agent of [platform name],

1. The work: I am the copyright owner of the artwork titled "[title of your work]". It was first published on [date] at [link to your first publication]. The original is shown here: [link to your portfolio page or a dated post].

2. The material: The following listing(s) use my work without my permission:
- [URL of listing 1]
- [URL of listing 2]
Seller or account name: [name shown on the listing].

3. Good-faith statement: I have a good-faith belief that this use of my work is not authorized by me, my agent, or the law.

4. Accuracy statement: The information in this notice is accurate, and, under penalty of perjury, I am the owner of the exclusive rights in the work described above, or am authorized to act on behalf of the owner.

5. Request: Please remove or disable access to the material identified above.

6. Contact: [your full name] | [email address] | [postal address] | [phone number, if you wish to give one]

Signature: /[your full name]/
Date: [date]

• Title and first publication: use the real date and a link that shows it, such as your portfolio or a dated post. See how to prove you made your artwork.
• URLs: the address of the specific listing, not the shop's home page. List every listing that uses this work in one notice.
• Both statements: sign them only if they are true. If you are not sure the work is yours or whether a use was licensed, find out first.
• Signature: a typed full name between slashes is the usual electronic form.

• Threats, insults or demands for money. A takedown notice asks for removal, nothing else.
• Legal conclusions you cannot support, such as claims about damages or about what a court would decide.
• Works that are not yours. List only your own work.
• A registration number if you have none. Say nothing you cannot show.
• More personal information than needed. See the next section.

Platforms commonly pass a notice on to the seller. Etsy, for example, tells the affected seller about the notice and gives them a way to respond. Assume that what you write, including your contact details, may reach the other party, and think about which email address and postal address you are comfortable sharing. The law asks for contact information that lets the platform reach you, not necessarily your home address if you have a business or mailing address you can use.

Use the platform's own copyright or intellectual property form first. It usually asks for the same things in separate boxes, and you can paste from the template. Where a platform lists a designated agent for written notices, send it there. The US Copyright Office keeps a directory of designated agents that platforms register. Platform-specific steps are in our guides for Etsy and Temu, Redbubble and Amazon.

Under 17 U.S.C. 512(f), a person who knowingly and materially misrepresents that material is infringing can be liable for damages, including costs and attorneys' fees. If a listing might be licensed, a clear parody, or a similar but independent design, stop and check before you send anything. If the seller answers with a counter-notice, see what to do if a seller files a counter-notice.

A template is only useful once you know where the copies are. TraceMyAssets checks the artworks you register on a schedule and shows possible matches for you to review. We only see public pages that a search engine indexes, and a match is a possible match, never proof. You decide what to do and you send every notice yourself; we never contact anyone for you. See the plans.

Can I send the same notice to every platform? You can reuse the text, but change the platform name and the URLs, and use each platform's own form first. Each platform handles notices in its own way.

Do I need a lawyer to send a notice? Not to send one. For anything large, commercial or disputed, ask a lawyer or an artists' rights organisation for advice.