What to do when you find a copy of your artwork

Open the page and compare it with your original. Similar is not always copied. Ask yourself:

• Is it really your work, or another artist's work that looks like it?
• Is it your own shop listing, a use you licensed, or a repost that credits you and that you are happy with?
• Is it being sold, or shown on a personal page or in a social post?

A match is a possible match, never proof. Only you can decide that it is a use you did not allow.

• Take a screenshot that shows the page, its address and today's date.
• Save the link and write down when you found it.
• Keep your original file and the copy you published untouched, with the date you first published it.
• Do not edit or crop the evidence.

A short, polite message to whoever posted it often ends the matter. Say what you found and where, that the work is yours, and what you ask for: remove it, credit you, or get in touch about a licence. Keep the tone calm and stick to facts you can show. Avoid threats and public accusations before you know the facts.

Marketplaces, print shops and social networks each have their own way to report copyright or intellectual-property problems, usually in their help section. Use that process rather than a general contact form. You will normally need the link, a way to show the work is yours (your original and its date), and a statement. Make only statements that are true: a false report can cause trouble for you.

Every site runs on a hosting company, and many hosts have a process for reports about content on sites they host. You can find a site's host with a public host lookup tool. How these reports work, and what they must contain, depends on the country, so read the host's own instructions.

For large, commercial or repeated use, talk to a lawyer or an artists' rights organisation in your country. Rules about copyright, licences and notices differ between countries, and this guide cannot tell you what applies to you.

• Editing or deleting your own evidence.
• Threats, insults or public accusations before you know the facts.
• Claims you cannot show: describe what you found, not what you assume.
• Waiting for a single message to solve everything: keep the dates of what you sent and when.

When a scan lists a possible match, open What can I do about this? on its card (on plans that show where a match was found). It gives a short version of these steps and three letters you can copy: a polite message to the poster, a report to the platform, and a notice to the website's host. Fill in the brackets and send only what is true; they are starting points, not legal advice. You send everything from your own account. TraceMyAssets never contacts anyone for you.

See how to check whether your artwork was reposted and what an invisible watermark survives, or the plans.

How long does it take for a copy to be removed? It depends on the person, the platform and the host. We cannot promise a time or a result.

Should I contact the person or the platform first? Usually the gentlest step first: a polite message to the person, then the platform, then the host. For serious cases, ask a professional before you start.

Does TraceMyAssets send the notices? No. We give you the steps and the letters. You decide and you send.