Stock Letters
When dealing with content theft and plagiarism matters, knowing what to say can be as important as knowing who to say it to. So, in order to help people who are preparing to send their own cease and desist letters or DMCA notices, I’ve prepared a small collection of stock letters.
Though these are the actual stock letters that I use and they have been very successful for me, as with everything else on this site, do not take these letters to be legal advice. Use them at your own risk.
Cease and Desist Letter (Download RTF file)
Note: A cease and desist letter needs to be flexible. My letter is targeted exclusively at plagiarists. This means that certain parts of this letter may not apply in other cases. Please read this note carefully and edit to suit your needs.
Dear Sir or Madam,
You are using a work that I own the copyright of. The name of the work involved is “<<WORK NAME>>”. It appears on a site operated by you at <<INFRINGING LINK>>. I have reserved all rights to this work, which was first published on <<ORIGINAL LINK>> in <<YEAR OR DATE OF PUBLICATION>>.
Your copying and or use of my work, which appear at the link above, is unauthorized. You neither asked for nor received permission to use the piece nor to make or distribute copies of them in the manner you have. Furthermore, you have taken credit for my work and caused confusion as to whom the original author of the work is. Therefore, I believe you have willfully infringed my rights under 17 USC §101, et seq. and could be liable for statutory damages as high as $100,000. Further, such copyright infringement is a direct violation of the Digital Millennium Copyright Act and International Copyright Law.
I demand that you immediately cease the use and distribution of the work and all copies of it, that you remove any further works you may have stolen and that you desist from this or any other infringement of my rights in the future. Furthermore, I demand that you post an apology on the site clarifying who the real author is and that you inform others that might have been misled by your misuse of the works’ origins.
If I have not received proof of compliance from you within 72 hours, I shall consider taking the full legal remedies available to rectify this situation including contacting my lawyer and/or your site’s administrators.
Sincerely,
<<YOUR NAME>>
DMCA Notice to Host (Download RTF File)
To Whom It May Concern,
I am writing to you to avail myself of my rights under the Digital Millennium Copyright Act (DMCA). This letter is a Notice of Infringement as authorized in § 512(c) of the U.S. Copyright Law. I wish to report an instance of what I feel in good faith is an instance or Copyright Infringement. The infringing material appears on the Service for which you are the designated agent.
You are registered with the U.S. Copyright Office as the Designated Service Provider Agent to receive notifications of alleged Copyright infringement with respect to users of the Service for which you are the Designated Agent.
- The material which I contend belongs to me, and appears illegally on the Service is the following:
<<TITLES OF WORK>>
- The material appears at the website addresses:
<<ADDRESS OF INFRINGING WORK>>
- The material appears on my Web site at these addresses:
<<ADDRESS OF ORIGINAL WORK>>
- My contact information is as follows:
<<NAME, ADDRESS, PHONE NUMBER AND EMAIL>>
- I have a good faith belief that the use of the material that appears on the service is not authorized by the copyright owner, its agent, or by operation of law.
- The information in this notice is accurate, and I am either the copyright owner or I am authorized to act on behalf of the copyright owner.
I declare under the perjury laws of the United States of America that this notification is true and correct.
Signed: <<YOUR NAME>>
DMCA Notice to Search Engine (Download RTF File)
To Whom It May Concern,
I am writing to you to avail myself of my rights under the Digital Millennium Copyright Act (DMCA). This letter is a Notice of Infringement as authorized in § 512(c) of the U.S. Copyright Law. I wish to report an instance of what I feel in good faith is an instance or Copyright Infringement. The infringing material appears on the Service for which you are the designated agent.
You are registered with the U.S. Copyright Office as the Designated Service Provider Agent to receive notifications of alleged Copyright infringement with respect to users of the Service for which you are the Designated Agent.
- The material which I contend belongs to me, and appears illegally on the Service is the following:
<<TITLES OF WORK>>
- The material appears at the website addresses:
<<ADDRESS OF INFRINGING WORK>>
- The material appears on my Web site at these addresses:
<<ADDRESS OF ORIGINAL WORK>>
- The infringing material is available through the following search results and links
<<SEARCH TERMS AND LINKS TO SERPS>>
- My contact information is as follows:
<<NAME, ADDRESS, PHONE NUMBER AND EMAIL>>
- I have a good faith belief that the use of the material that appears on the service is not authorized by the copyright owner, its agent, or by operation of law.
I declare under the perjury laws of the United States of America that this notification is true and correct.
Signed: <<YOUR NAME>>
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