What to Do If Someone Steals Your Content

If someone steals your content, start by documenting it: screenshot and archive the copy with its URL and date. Then gather your originals, working files and sealed records, report the copy through the platform's own copyright tools, and look at your other options on official sources like copyright.gov.

This guide is general information, not legal advice.

It's natural to want to reply in the comments or post about it. You may want to wait until you've finished the steps below, so you have a record of the copy before anything changes.

Capture the copy before you report it:

• Screenshots of the post, the account name and handle, captions, view counts and any sales page, with the URL and the date and time visible.
• The direct URL of every copy, saved to a simple log with the date you found it.
• An independent archive. Paste the URL into the Internet Archive's Save Page Now to create a dated snapshot. Some pages can't be archived, so screenshots still matter.
• Screen recordings for video, Stories or anything that expires.

Leave your original files untouched while you do this. Work on copies if you need to.

Pull together what shows your work existed, and how it was made:

• The original file at full quality, plus the version you first posted.
• Drafts and working files: RAW photos, layered PSD or Procreate files, project and DAW sessions, script drafts, earlier exports.
• Your own posting record: links and dates of where you first published it.
• Messages and emails where you sent the file to a client, collaborator or platform.
• Sealed records, if you made them. A CREATORSEAL Receipt of Provenance Record documents what an exact file was and when it existed (more below).

Keep it all in one folder, so it's ready if a platform or anyone else asks.

If you want to understand what a trusted timestamp records and how it differs from ordinary file metadata, see How to Timestamp a Document or File as Proof.

Before you file, make sure you control the rights you're asserting. Consider whether the use may be licensed or otherwise authorized, whether the work is in the public domain, or whether fair use, fair dealing or another exception may apply. A post that looks copied isn't automatically infringement. Platform copyright forms are legal processes, not general complaint buttons. YouTube, for example, calls its removal request "a legal process", asks claimants to "consider whether fair use, public domain, or a similar copyright exception applies," and warns that misuse of its processes "may result in the termination of your account or other legal consequences."

Most platforms have their own copyright form. Each one explains what it needs from you on its help page.

YouTube’s Copyright Transparency Report shows its copyright tools are used at enormous scale, from individual webform requests to automated rights-management systems.

These are the main formal routes creators hear about. Each description is short on purpose; follow the link to the official source for the details.

• DMCA takedown notice. A notice asking a website or service to remove material, under the U.S. Digital Millennium Copyright Act. The Copyright Office explains the system on its Section 512 page and lists sites' contacts in its DMCA Designated Agent Directory.
• Cease-and-desist letter. A written request asking someone to stop using your work. Some creators send their own; others have a lawyer send one.
• Copyright Claims Board (CCB). The CCB is a voluntary Copyright Office tribunal for certain copyright disputes involving claims up to $30,000 (Copyright Office; CCB FAQ).
• Copyright registration. A public record of your claim, filed with the U.S. Copyright Office. The Copyright Office explains what it does in Circular 1 and its general FAQ. Our guide Do I Need to Register My Copyright? covers it in more depth.
• A copyright lawyer. You may want to speak with one about your situation. The CCB site lists pro bono assistance resources.

CREATORSEAL is creation provenance infrastructure. When you seal a file, it's fingerprinted with SHA-384 on your device, the fingerprint gets a trusted RFC 3161 timestamp, and you keep a Receipt of Provenance Record and an Evidence Bundle that anyone can check at /verify.

That record documents what the file was and when it existed. A CREATORSEAL record can help document the chronology and exact file involved in a dispute. It gives a platform, reviewer, or attorney one more verifiable piece of evidence to consider alongside your source files, publication history, contracts, correspondence, and other records.

What it isn't:

• Not proof of ownership or authorship. It shows that a file existed at a time. It doesn't show who made it or who owns the rights. Authorship and ownership are determined from the broader evidence, contracts, applicable law, and the specific facts of the dispute.
• Not a substitute for registration. Copyright registration is a separate filing with the U.S. Copyright Office.
• Not a takedown tool. It can't remove copies or stop copying.

You can't stop every repost. You can make sure that, if it happens, you're not starting from nothing:

1. Seal before sharing. Seal the file before it leaves your hands: the master and the version you send or post.
2. Keep your working files. RAW files, layered files and drafts are the process evidence people ask for.
3. Read up on registration. The Copyright Office explains what it is.
4. Be selective with unreleased work. As filmmaker @Zanah__ put it: "Be VERY selective. People will steal your work."
5. Watermark previews, knowing a watermark can be cropped. Photographer Natalie Hood has posted about exactly that: "my photographs look awful when they've just been stolen & the copyrights been cropped out".

What should I do first if someone steals my content?
Document it. Take screenshots that show the URL and date, save the link, and archive the page. Then gather your originals and use the platform's copyright reporting tools.

Where do I report stolen content on YouTube, Instagram, TikTok, Facebook or X?
Each platform has its own copyright form, linked in the table above. Their help pages explain what information they ask for.

Do I need copyright registration before reporting stolen content to a platform?
Not necessarily. Platform reporting and federal registration are different processes. YouTube, for example, accepts removal requests from copyright owners or their authorized representatives. Registration matters for other kinds of enforcement, such as U.S. federal litigation. See Do I Need to Register My Copyright?

What evidence should I keep?
Screenshots with URLs and dates, archived copies, your full-quality originals, drafts and working files, your posting history, and any sealed records.

What is a DMCA takedown notice?
It's a notice asking a website or service to remove material, under U.S. law. The Copyright Office explains it on its Section 512 page.

What is the Copyright Claims Board?
It's a voluntary Copyright Office tribunal for certain copyright disputes involving claims up to $30,000. The CCB FAQ explains how it works.

Does a CREATORSEAL record prove I own my content?
No. A Receipt of Provenance Record documents what a file was and when it existed. It's one supporting record alongside your drafts, source files and other evidence. It doesn't prove ownership or authorship.

Should I watermark my work?
A watermark can deter casual reposting, but it can be cropped out. Keeping your originals and sealed records means you're not relying on the watermark alone.

If this resonates with you, "Seal A File" on one real file before you share it.

• YouTube Copyright Transparency Report — transparencyreport.google.com
• U.S. Copyright Office, Copyright Small Claims — copyright.gov; Copyright Claims Board FAQ — ccb.gov/faq
• U.S. Copyright Office, Section 512 — copyright.gov/512; DMCA Designated Agent Directory — copyright.gov
• U.S. Copyright Office, Copyright in General FAQ — copyright.gov; Circular 1 — copyright.gov
• YouTube Help: copyright removal request, Copyright Match Tool; Instagram; Meta IP form; TikTok; X
• Internet Archive, Save Page Now — web.archive.org

Related guides: Do I Need to Register My Copyright? · How to Prove Who Wrote It First · Proof of authorship · How to Timestamp a Document · Poor man's copyright vs CREATORSEAL · Real examples

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CREATORSEAL is not a legal service and does not replace copyright registration, contracts, NDAs, or legal counsel. It helps creators create and preserve proof records for digital files so they can maintain a clearer documentation trail.

This guide is general information, not legal advice. Copyright law varies by country.