Somewhere online, a shop is selling a 1940s rayon blouse. The listing uses your photograph. You know that dress form. You know the Lucite comb and the velvet hat box. Even the window light is yours.
Many vintage sellers and restorers see this sooner or later. A DMCA takedown is the usual first step. It starts with one question: who made the picture?
The short version
- The person who takes a photograph is generally its author.
- A scan of someone else’s print is a copy. It carries no new copyright.
- US works published before 1931 are in the public domain in 2026.
- A takedown notice needs six items. The other side can answer it.
Whose photograph is it?
If you pressed the shutter, the picture is generally yours. The Copyright Office says ownership can pass by contract. An employee’s work for her employer belongs to the employer. Some contractor work follows the same rule.
Did you hire a photographer for your shop? Read the contract first. Then decide who owns the pictures.
What about a scanned portrait?
A scanner is a faithful photocopier. It has no opinions about authorship.
The Copyright Office examiner manual, the Compendium, calls a scan of a photograph a mere copy. A mere copy of another work is not copyrightable. The manual also treats analog-to-digital conversion as a mechanical change. It treats touching up an aged photograph as minimal authorship.
A restoration that rebuilds large missing areas is a separate question. A lawyer can answer it for your own work.
Is the original in the public domain?
Circular 15A from the Copyright Office covers this. It says works published in the US before January 1, 1931 are in the public domain in 2026. A US-published 1920s studio portrait therefore gives you a clean file.
The place of first publication also matters. Steichen’s 1911 photographs of Poiret’s gowns first ran in a French magazine. So the US rule does not settle that case.
What a DMCA takedown notice needs
Section 512 of the Digital Millennium Copyright Act protects hosting services. The service must follow a set procedure. Part of it is naming an agent to receive complaints.
A valid notice goes to that agent in writing. Under the statute, it includes six items:
- A physical or electronic signature from the owner or her authorised agent.
- Identification of the copyrighted work. A representative list works if one notice covers several.
- Identification of the copy, with enough detail for the service to find it.
- Your contact information.
- A good-faith statement that neither the owner, her agent nor the law authorised the use.
- A statement that the notice is accurate. You also state, under penalty of perjury, that you may act for the owner.
Where to send it
The agent’s details sit on the service’s own site. The Copyright Office also keeps a public directory of designated agents.
Large marketplaces run their own reporting forms. Etsy’s help page says the person reporting must be the owner or authorised to report for her. You can add listings by ID or URL. Etsy suggests contacting the seller first. It also says it cannot make legal determinations on infringement claims.
What happens after you send it?
The service tells the uploader. She can answer with a counter notification. That document includes:
- Her signature.
- Identification of the removed material and where it appeared.
- A statement, under penalty of perjury, that the removal was a mistake.
- Her name, address and phone number.
- Consent to a US federal court’s jurisdiction, and to accept service of process from you.
The service forwards you a copy. Next comes a waiting period. The service restores the material 10 to 14 business days after the counter notice arrives. If you file a court action first, the material stays down. Without a court action, a takedown does not guarantee the material stays down.
Take care with careless notices
The statute also penalises careless notices. Anyone who knowingly and materially misrepresents infringement is liable for damages, costs and attorney’s fees.
Say you scanned a postcard from a 1925 magazine. A seller lists it. Read your notice twice before you sign.
Living in Ireland or the EU?
Irish and EU copyright law runs separately from the US rules. The EU Digital Services Act requires hosting services to offer a way to report illegal content. Most large platforms accept notices from anywhere.
A US notice still reaches US-based hosts. Check the rules where you live before you choose a route.
What if the site has no report button?
Many copies sit on a small shop’s own domain or a style blog. You can send the notice to the designated agent of the host. The directory helps you find her.
A short, friendly email to the site owner is often quicker. Etsy suggests the same order for its sellers.
What about a cease and desist letter?
A cease and desist letter is a different document. It goes to the person using your picture. It names your photograph and the page with the copy. Then it asks for removal.
ConsumerShield is a US legal information site. It also matches visitors with lawyers. It offers legal forms and guides, including a copyright infringement cease and desist letter template. Access sits behind a membership with a short free trial. So check the current terms first.
Sending that letter does not start the DMCA counter notice process.
Keep your receipts
Take dated screenshots of the copy. Note the URL or listing ID. Store your original files with their creation dates.
Originals do not settle a dispute alone. They make very useful evidence.
Before you send anything
Ask yourself three questions:
- Do you own the copyright, or can you act for the owner?
- Was your older print published in the US before 1931?
- Did the other party have permission, or does fair use apply? Sections 107 to 122 of the Copyright Act list the limitations.
Answer these before you sign the good-faith statement.
Next, search the Copyright Office’s DMCA directory for the host’s designated agent. Then check your draft against the six items above. Write the statements in your own words.
This article offers general information about US copyright procedure. It is not legal advice, and a lawyer can advise on your own situation.
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