Yesterday, out of nowhere, I received a blunt and threatening email from Copytrack, a company that tracks down copyright infringements on behalf of image licensing agencies. They claimed I had used an image also available at YAY Images on one of my posts “without permission” and demanded payment of €350 ($383) within three weeks. Let’s get started on this crazy story!

Here’s the Backstory
Just a few weeks ago, I published a blog post about copyright protection tools for photographers, where I briefly mentioned Copytrack. You can check out that blog post below, where in light of current events I have edited the post:

Photo Justice: Top 5 Tools for Stock Photographers to Combat Infringement and Potentially Earn

Fast forward to yesterday, and Copytrack is demanding I prove I have a license for an image I used on my blog for an interview from last year, or they’ll hit me with legal action and claim damages.

Brutally Honest Legal Woes – Notice by Copytrack in full

So, I’ll just paste the email below and take it from there (I’ve also emitted any sensitive info):

Authorization request / Unauthorized image use – Case no: XXXXX

Dear Alexandre Rotenberg Photography,

We, COPYTRACK, are writing to you on behalf of our client YayImages, who has assigned us the monitoring and protection of their licenses and image rights globally. On September 18, 2024 we have been informed that Alexandre Rotenberg Photography is likely using an image without permission and the client has exclusively commissioned us with the clarification, administration of the image rights and, if necessary, the enforcement of any copyright infringement through our partner lawyers. Images are protected by copyright law and infringements are actionable under international law and the respective national law. Please see the attachment below for details.

On behalf of our client, we must first determine if you have a valid license to use the images in question. If you have a valid license or any other legal justification to use these images, please reply to this email and include proof of license purchase and/or any other necessary information to validate the usage. Please note that you are obliged to provide the necessary information about the usage of the image to allow us to verify the lawfulness of such usage. Please respond to this letter no later than October 20, 2024. If this is not the case, your use of the image material most likely constitutes a copyright infringement. If no settlement can be reached, we as Copytrack are directly instructed to enforce these rights for the territory in the Federal Republic of Germany through our German partner lawyers and, in addition, to instruct our respective partner lawyers in other countries to examine and, if necessary, enforce the infringement of the rights in the respective countries. You would then be legally obligated to compensate our client for the damage caused by this copyright infringement.

Rights holderYayImagesImage found onhttps://brutallyhonestmicrostock.com/2023/09/21/interview-with-captain-tono-balaguer-food-photographer-fisherman/Online SinceSeptember 21, 2023

3 steps to solving your caseIn order to resolve this case amicably with you, we request your cooperation. Please complete the following steps to close this case:CheckReview the evidence on this case by going to https://portal.copytrack.com and entering CASE ID 8AE2FAProofShow us proof of your license by uploading it or providing any other legal justification to use these images and if it is valid, we will close your case immediately;If you do not have a valid license or any other valid justification:Compensation / LicenseYou now have the following 2 options:Option 1: Purchase of a subsequent image license (includes past and future use for one year after purchase).Option 2: Compensation (includes the previous use and requires the immediate deletion of the image).

Image license (valid for 1 year from date of purchase)389.59 €Compensation costs (past usage)350.00 €Payment is due by October 29, 2024Payments for both options can be made securely online at https://portal.copytrack.com by entering CASE ID XXXX. We accept PayPal, credit card and bank transfer. We calculate these fees based on our client’s license history, as well as the duration of use and type of rights infringement. Failure to provide a proof or pay for a valid license may result in your case being referred to our partner attorney and significantly higher additional fees. To avoid further action, including legal action, provide proof of a valid license or any other relevant information by October 20, 2024, or acquire it by making payment in our online portal.

Sincerely yours,

Marcus Schmitt (CEO)

About CopytrackSince 2015, Copytrack has been helping creatives and brands protect their copyrighted images. As one of the leading digital licensing and copyright agents in the world, we have helped manage, license, and enforce over 200.000 cases of image theft. Though most cases settle peacefully, we reserve the right to proceed legally where necessary through our global network of partner law firms in order to protect the intellectual property of our customers.

Summary – Unauthorized use of the image – Case ID: XXXX For the full report, visit https://portal.copytrack.com and enter this CASE-ID XXXX.

Rights holderYayImagesImage usedImage found onhttps://brutallyhonestmicrostock.com/2023/09/21/interview-with-captain-tono-balaguer-food-photographer-fisherman/Online SinceSeptember 21, 2023Image license (valid for 1 year from date of purchase) 374.50 €Compensation costs (past usage)350.00 €Payment is due by October 29, 2024

So What’s This All About?

Back in September 2023, I published an Interview with Tono Balaguer. With his full permission, I used his own images to illustrate the post. So, you can imagine my surprise when I received this aggressive message from Copytrack. I’ve since replied with proof of Tono’s consent, but I’m still waiting for them to officially close the case and leave me alone. However, they have insisted on payment with the following email completely ignoring my defence:

Dear Sir or Madam,

Thank you for your message

Please share with us proof with a visible purchase date so that we can check whether you have been using the image with permission before we contacted you.

It can be, for example, an invoice or a screenshot of the download history from your account.

Otherwise, we must insist on full compensation payment.

Best regards, 
Yan

Legal Department

COPYTRACK GmbH

October 17 Update:

YAY Images’ Reputation and Dubious Practices
After reaching out to Tono, I discovered this isn’t an isolated incident. He told me a customer who had legally licensed one of his images through another agency that was also at YAY faced similar issues. Tono even requested YAY to remove his portfolio in September 2024 after these kinds of problems surfaced because it made him so upset. To his surprise, he checked today and his port is still active and he has followed up.

It turns out, YAY Images has also been struggling with negative reviews, as their TrustPilot rating of 1.6/5 shows. In large part because they’ve hired Copytrack to aggressively pursue potential infringements, with many claims being dubious at best. Here’s only two of the many hundreds of 1-star reviews.

What’s Wrong with This Picture?
Let me be clear: copyright theft is a serious problem and thieves deserve to be held accountable. But the way YAY (indirectly) and Copytrack (directly) are going about this is highly problematic. Here’s why:

1. Aggressive Business Tactics
   Copytrack sends out these aggressive, high-pressure emails demanding many hundreds of euros in fees, giving recipients only a few weeks to pay up. They don’t even offer a simple “take down the image” (DCMA) request first, which seems designed to intimidate people into paying.
2. Lack of Proper Research
   Had Copytrack taken just two minutes to read my blog, they’d see that the image in question belongs to Tono, and that it was used with his full consent since the interview is about him. It feels like Copytrack is using automated AI systems to issue claims thousands of random claims without verifying any facts.
3. Non-Exclusive Images Are Fair Game
   The image they’re accusing me of “stealing” is a non-exclusive, Royalty-Free stock image that’s been available on multiple microstock platforms. What they’re really trying to do is exploit the non-exclusive and often confusing legal nature of these images, hoping to scare legitimate people into paying for something they’re already licensed to use (or worse, downloaded for free at one of the free-download turd sites), which is a waste of time for all involved. According to their website, YAY have 15.46 million stock images and 307,660 videos with the majority, I suspect that the majority are available at other agencies.
4. Overinflated Fees
   Even if I had infringed on the image rights (which I didn’t), the fees they’re demanding are ludicrous. YAY Images offers unlimited downloads for around $100 a year (see below their “Unlimited Plan”) , yet they’re charging €350 for this one image for “past usage” (of course they’re hiding their massive administration fees)! Supposing I did pay then it would mean that YAY images would receive 55% of this amount (€192.50).

A Final Thought: Is This the Future of Stock Photography?
It’s no secret that the stock photography industry is in trouble, not just because royalties are shrinking due to a multitude of reasons, including legitimate copyright thefts, free sites, oversaturation and AI, etc.

However, this isn’t an excuse for greedy agencies to resort to questionable tactics to survive. By partnering with companies like Copytrack, who act unprofessionally, they’re damaging relationships with contributors and buyers (mainly small businesses) alike.

Closing Thoughts
If you’re an existing contributor at YAY Images, I would highly recommend you reconsider your relationship with them for the above-mentioned reasons alone (on a secondary note you’re probably earning very little with them anyway). In addition, it’s also a good idea to be aware of the dubious business practices that struggling agencies may be resorting and have your own “red lines” to remove your port immediately.

As for YAY, I hope they will rethink its partnership with Copytrack – I’m sure they have received already dozens of complaints. As for me, I’ll continue to defend my use of Tono’s image and wait to see how this case unfolds. It’s a reminder that, as contributors and image buyers, we need to be vigilant, but also cautious of the new tactics some agencies are using to stay afloat. It’s a slippery slope, and one I hope other greedy agencies won’t resort to these desperate measures – only time will tell.

Oh and no news yet on me getting sued via Alamy, Brutally Honest difficult times indeed!

February 2025 Update – COPYTRACK: Scam or legitimate? German lawyer explains

Interesting blog post about a lawyer and his business that was targeted by Copytrack, where he discusses what happens and strategies.

https://kanzlei-franz.com/copytrack-scam-or-legitimate/

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About Alex

I’m an eccentric guy, currently based in Lisbon, Portugal on a quest to visit all corners of the world and capture stock images & footage. I’ve devoted ten years to making it as a travel photographer / videographer and freelance writer. I hope to inspire others by showing an unique insight into a fascinating business model.

I’ve gone all in on submitting book cover images to Arcangel Images. Oh and was also flying a DJI Mavic 2s drone regularly (although it crashed into Botafogo Bay on NYE – here is the story), which I’ve upgraded to a Mini 3 Pro and the Air3.

I’m proud to have written a book about my adventures which includes tips on making it as a stock travel photographer – Brutally Honest Guide to Microstock Photography