Copyright Enforcement Tools for Creators
When you find your work used without permission, RightsClick gives you the tools to act. You can assess the strength of your claim, send a DMCA takedown notice or a cease and desist letter, and find a copyright attorney if you need one, all from the same account where you register your work. The enforcement tools are included for every RightsClick subscriber.
Infringement Assessment
To save you time and money, RightsClick has an Infringement Assessment tool that will give you a sense of the strength of your claim in just a couple of minutes. All you have to do is answer some basic questions about the use you discovered. You will instantly receive a report that tells you what the important parts are and lets you evaluate your infringement claim based on the legally relevant factors.
DMCA Takedown Notice Generator
If your work was posted on a social media or similar site without permission, you can ask the site to remove it with a DMCA takedown notice. If you used the RightsClick Infringement Assessment tool, you can simply click a button and the system will produce the text of a notification you can email to the site. RightsClick also adds a reminder to your To Do list so you can confirm the site took the material down.
Cease and Desist Letter Generator
When you can identify the person or business that used your work, you can send them a cease and desist letter (C&D) asking them to stop, pay, or both. After running the Infringement Assessment, you can have the system automatically prepare a C&D for you, which you can customize to either ask for money or takedown or both, and you can decide how much money you want to ask for. The letter goes out from your own email, and you keep 100% of any payment.
Find a Copyright Attorney
If you want legal help, RightsClick has a list of copyright attorneys you can contact directly. You can send them your Infringement Assessment report — they will have the relevant info right there, saving you time and money.
Why Registration Makes These Tools Stronger
Keep in mind that you are always in a stronger position if you registered your work prior to the start of the infringement (or, for a published work, within three months of first publication). Under U.S. copyright law, if you registered in time, you are eligible for special remedies known as “statutory damages,” as well as the possibility of getting the other side to pay your attorneys’ fees if you do go to court. For the full picture, see Why Copyright Registration Is Your Best Legal Defense.
“The point is not to actually have to go to court,” says RightsClick co-founder and copyright lawyer Steven Tepp, “the point is that statutory damages can be as high as $150,000 per work, so rather than fight you, the infringer settles quickly.”
No one enjoys having their work and their rights abused. But with the right preparation and armed with knowledge and RightsClick tools, you can take action with confidence.
For a step-by-step guide to responding when your work is used without permission, see Taking Action: DMCA Takedown and Responding to Infringement of Your Work.