If you are here, you likely recieved an email from Copytrack telling you to provide proof or pay. The email mainly threatened legal action if you didn’t pay. To see my suggestions based on your circumstances, check out my guide on How to Respond to Copytrack for detailed steps on handling their claims… perhaps too much detail.
Normally, for me, the last few weeks of the year are a time to relax. Unfortunately, this time, I spent those weeks dealing with Adsense and constantly trying to figure out how to get Facebook to like us again (I earn my income off social media traffic); I thought maybe after getting Adsense in order, I could take a few days off. Perhaps I could formulate something to get my content back on top with Facebook in that time. I had plans of sorting my Thor and Daredevil comics and starting seeds. Instead, I had to deal with a copyright claim from a company out of Germany called Copytrack, which represents WENN Rights International Ltd.
This is not the first time I have dealt with a copyright claim. I am more likely to file my own,
The last claim I dealt with against us was from a woman who claimed we stole a picture of her cat, not knowing that the ‘m’-like shape on the forehead is common in tabby cats… or that her cat was a tabby. Admittedly, I get anxious even if I am right every time.
The Copytrack notice claimed a screenshot was the property of WENN Rights International Ltd. Normally, and I pointed out that it is not their property. In most cases, our images are under fair use, but they can also be purchased, created by me or someone I outsourced to, or my own photos. The post they found it on had the video embedded in it and was about the video. Because the creator of the video gets traffic out of that, I have a lot of YouTube creators contacting us to write about their videos.
My ADHD brain always comes up with the worst-case scenarios. There are too many cases where the law does not favor the innocent. Often, I overfocus on something long after it is over. Telling them it was fair use, where it came from, and how it was not Wenn’s property were ignored. Again, they demanded proof (a license) or pay them.
The date they claimed we used the image was wrong, by years, not last year. Also, I found we were not even using that screenshot now. The one they pointed us to was a .png file because, for some reason, my business partner thought it was a good idea back in 2019 despite making things load slower. We later had to clean up by getting new screenshots; in this case, it had to be enhanced as the video was pretty old, and it was hard to get a decent screenshot, which makes me wonder how they found it. Again, it was being used under fair use.
My experience with past claims was that they either wanted removal or credit. Wanting to be paid? Sometimes, but always illegitimate. Ween/Copytrack wants me to pay a past usage fee/compensate them, and enter into a subscription fee (WTF??). I don’t see an option to pay the fee but not pay for future use. There is no way of providing proof of self-creation, fair use, or public domain.
It’s hard to justify future payments for this image; this old post rarely gets traffic. Again, we had to enhance the image as the video is not HD, let alone 4 K. I could get better-quality images for cheaper from a stock image site, but the image would not reflect the video the post is about.
I went back and forth with Copytrack, but they did not read my responses. They mostly sent prepared responses that did not address what I said. Meanwhile, they keep sending threatening emails.
On January 4, 2024, they sent me another claim over the same image. I almost thought it was the same claim, but I noticed it started with a ‘b’, not a ‘4’; I could have missed that.
Since the start, I have wanted to find other people’s experiences and maybe learn how to remove Copytrack from my back.
Boy, did I fall down a rabbit hole…
Does Copytrack.com have a history of false positives?
Yes, and most of them involved Wenn, which tries to claim they do not own rights such as fair use, public domain, provided for media, and even paid-for stock images. The biggest obstacle I see is Copytrack’s lack of communication; while you wait for them to respond, they continue to send more legal threats.
I will try to stay focused on how to deal with them rather than exploring details about these companies. I discovered so many things that I think would overwhelm this post. So that means seeing who else may have had this problem and how they dealt with the false claims. There are three I want to focus on. One to avoid, two to read in detail.
Not everyone offers the best advice.
When I searched for other people’s experiences, I found one result that made me wonder if they represent Copytrack. If you do your own research, you will see it and know why it should have been avoided.
In summary, their post amounted to paying a full or negotiated amount. It also claimed extortion is not illegal. I am not a lawyer, but I am pretty sure it is a federal crime. Nowhere did it mention what to do if CopyTrack was wrong. Reading the comments, it seems the author had engaged in copyright theft. They did not share their experience or why they wrote the article. Thankfully, it was not a top result. Nor will I provide a link to them to avoid helping them get a higher search engine ranking.
There is also a lawyer who claims to make a fair use argument, which does not work with every claim. And don’t get me started on an site that has pictures of cats.
Molif.com – Ani provides a well-documented interaction with Copytrack
https://www.molif.com/en/2023/03/04/the-copytrack-saga-a-cautionary-tale/
This was the first claim I found outlining how they got Copytrack to stop. Copytrack tied to claim a photo commissioned by the Postal Museum in London was the property of Wenn. After the museum provided proof it was theirs and they had given Ani written permission to use it (despite fair use), I recommend reading it for full details. Copytrack got more effort than it deserved because it falsely claimed it represented the rights holder of that image, which was not Wenn.
Also, they are the second result when looking up WENN Rights International Ltd.
Andalys.com – Ari put the responsibility of proof on Copytrack
https://andalys.com/how-i-fought-a-copyright-case-against-copytrack/
I think a good strategy for dealing with false claims can be found here. Andalys utilized TinEye, a reverse image search service. A service I generally use on fake Facebook accounts. The author demonstrated the widespread use of the image online, casting doubt on the claim’s validity. After Andalys demanded proof of ownership, Copytrack retracted the claim. The notices I got don’t provide proof of ownership. They put that burden on my shoulders. My DMCAs always point to proof of how I own the copyright but not Copytrack’s claims.
Many other sites share their experiences but do not detail the steps they took or whether Copytrack actually acted.
How did I deal with Copytrack/ WENN Rights International Ltd?
Following Andalys’ advice, I asked Copytrack to provide proof of ownership. So far, they have been silent, with no reminder to take action after several days. Before, it was every two to three days, which is a bit unnerving. I would like notice if they did close out the claim and an apology for wasting my time (wishful thinking from what I have seen). Given how much they charge, I definitely would like a reimbursement for my time (I know that will never happen).
I contacted the party Copytrack represented, WENN Rights International Ltd, before the second claim to the same image came in.
This is the response I got:
For a change, a response that does not seem like an autoresponse.
I submitted both case numbers for the same image.
Did I get this resolved?
UPDATE: On July 21, 2024, over 6 months later, they confirmed both claims were shut down. – For my thoughts on that Click Here.