If you believe someone is using your copyrighted work without authorization, prepare a precise record of the work, the disputed use and your authority before contacting the relevant service. Buying hosting or seeing your name on a webpage does not establish every copyright question. This guide organizes the preparation work; it is not a legal opinion or a ready-to-send notice.
WebCare360 publishes this guide and sells hosting. A complaint about another site is separate from securing your own account or responding to a notice you received. For the latter, use the incoming-notice response guide.
Identify the work and the exact use
Keep a record for each disputed item: the work you identify, your source or licence records, the page or file location where you observed the use, the observation date and any relevant correspondence. Distinguish a whole copied file from a link, excerpt or other use. Avoid a broad allegation about an entire domain when you have evidence concerning one item.
Preserve only material you are authorized to collect and store. Restrict access to private source files and personal information. An observation record helps organize a review; a timestamp, screenshot or file hash does not by itself establish ownership or liability.
Confirm your authority and the applicable process
The U.S. Copyright Office's Section 512 resources explain that a notice comes from the rightsholder or an authorized representative. Being depicted in a photograph does not necessarily make you its copyright owner. Permission, licence scope and exceptions may affect the assessment; seek advice when these are disputed.
The same guidance identifies the information expected in a U.S. notice: the work, the material and enough information to locate it, contact details, a signature and the required good-faith and accuracy/authority statements. It provides a sample notice and designated-agent directory. Those statements have legal consequences; knowing material misrepresentations can create liability. Use the current official guidance and appropriate advice instead of copying declarations you cannot substantiate.
Do not assume the U.S. procedure determines every international case. Establish the relevant service and process before choosing a recipient. For WebCare360, consult the current service agreement for applicable reporting terms; this article does not create a new reporting channel or response commitment.
Assemble a reviewable submission record
| Record | Preparation check |
|---|---|
| Work and authority | Keep the source, licence or representative authorization relevant to the claim; note unresolved ownership questions. |
| Disputed location | Check the specific URL or resource while documenting when it was observed. |
| Recipient | Verify the service's current designated process; keep the source and date of that verification. |
| Submission | Retain the exact material sent, submission date and case reference without circulating unrelated private records. |
| Follow-up | Record acknowledgements, clarification requests and subsequent observations separately. |
For example, two URLs may display the same image while only one is operated by the service you are contacting. Identify that distinction before submitting. This is an illustrative scoping problem, not a finding about an actual dispute.
Follow the case without assuming an outcome
A sent message, receipt and restriction are different events. Keep their dates separately. Ask through the documented channel if required information is missing; do not assume an arbitrary 24-hour deadline or that silence resolves the claim. The Copyright Office distinguishes initial removal handling from the conditional counter-notice process; neither is a universal hosting resolution promise.
Refer a counter-notice or threatened court action to appropriate advice promptly. Do not treat a hosting support decision as a final judgment of rights. Continue maintaining your own site's authorized recovery copies and access controls, but do not confuse those technical measures with enforcement.
The useful output is an accurate, scoped case record and a verified next step. If the evidence does not establish your authority or the use at issue, resolve that gap before making a formal declaration.
