Cease and desist letter for a photo used without permission

A cease and desist letter formally tells the infringer to stop using your photo, and often to pay for the past use, before you take further action. Well written, it settles most cases without a lawyer.

When to send a cease and desist letter

Send it when a first friendly message or retroactive invoice has had no effect, or straight away when the use is clearly commercial: shop, advert, company website, competitor. It creates a written record and shows that you are serious.

What the letter must include

• your name and contact details, and the fact that you are the author and copyright owner;
• a description of the photo and proof of authorship (original file, first publication);
• the exact address of each page where it is used, with the date you found it;
• a statement that no permission was given;
• what you demand: removal, payment of a licence fee, a credit, or several of these;
• a clear deadline (usually 7 to 14 days);
• what you will do if there is no reply: notice to the host, legal action;
• your evidence attached: screenshots, timestamps, SHA-256 fingerprints.

Template

Subject: Unauthorised use of my photograph — cease and desist

Dear Sir or Madam,

I am the author and copyright owner of the photograph “[title]”, first published on [date] at [address]. On [date and time] I found that this photograph is reproduced without my permission on the following page(s): [addresses].

I have never granted you a licence to use this image. This use infringes my copyright.

I therefore ask you, within 14 days of this letter, to [remove the photograph from all your media / pay the sum of [amount] as a licence fee for the past use, with the option to continue using it with the credit “© [name]”].

Without a satisfactory reply within this deadline, I will notify your hosting provider and reserve the right to take legal action without further notice.

Evidence attached: screenshots, timestamps and fingerprints of the page.

Yours faithfully,
[Name, address, e-mail]

Frolay Protect fills in this letter automatically with the page address, the date, the evidence and the amount calculated from your rates. For US-hosted sites it also generates a DMCA notice.

How to send it

Send it by e-mail to the site’s official address and by a method that proves receipt: registered or recorded delivery post, or a tracked courier for a company. Keep a copy of everything. If the site is anonymous, send it to the contact address shown in the domain’s WHOIS or to the host’s abuse address.

What happens next

Most sites remove the image or pay within the deadline. If not, notify the host: in the EU it must act on a proper notice under the Digital Services Act, in the US under the DMCA. For a significant amount, a copyright lawyer can take over, using your evidence file. In England and Wales, the IPEC small claims track handles claims up to £10,000 without a lawyer.

Frequently asked questions