Copyright Claim: How Much Will You Actually Pay?

You got a letter demanding thousands of euros for an image on your website. Your stomach dropped. You're wondering if the number is real, if you can negotiate and how much you'll actually end up paying.

Take a breath. These claims are common. Thousands of European small businesses receive them every year. The initial demand is almost never what you end up paying. But you do need to take it seriously.

This is not legal advice. These are typical ranges based on publicly reported settlements and court decisions. Your situation may differ. If you're unsure, consult a lawyer who specialises in intellectual property.

Who sends these letters

Three companies dominate copyright enforcement against small businesses in Europe.

Getty Images is the largest stock photo agency in the world. Their merger with Shutterstock in 2025 gave them an even bigger catalogue and more enforcement resources. Getty sends demand letters directly and through law firms. They have an in-house team that crawls the web looking for unlicensed use of their images.

CopyTrack is a Berlin-based company that uses image recognition technology to find unlicensed photos online. Photographers and agencies upload their images to CopyTrack, which then finds matches on websites and sends demand letters. CopyTrack works on commission, typically keeping 40-60% of the settlement.

PicRights operates similarly to CopyTrack. They represent news agencies like AFP, Reuters and EPA. Their demand letters tend to focus on editorial images and news photographs.

Typical settlement ranges

Here are the amounts we've seen reported across hundreds of cases involving European small businesses.

Getty Images

• Initial demand: 800 to 5,000 EUR per image
• Typical settlement: 500 to 2,500 EUR per image
• Multiple images: Per-image cost often decreases when settling for several at once

Getty's initial letters usually demand the standard license fee plus a "penalty" for unlicensed use. The standard fee is what you would have paid for a legitimate license. The penalty can double or triple that amount.

Getty is generally willing to negotiate. Their first number is not their final number. Most cases settle for 40-60% of the initial demand.

CopyTrack

• Initial demand: 500 to 3,000 EUR per image
• Typical settlement: 300 to 1,500 EUR per image

CopyTrack's demands are often lower than Getty's because they represent individual photographers rather than major agencies. The value of the image matters a lot here. A professional photograph from a well-known photographer commands more than a generic stock photo.

CopyTrack has a portal where you can respond to claims and negotiate directly. They're often willing to settle for less than the initial demand, especially if you cooperate quickly.

PicRights

• Initial demand: 500 to 4,000 EUR per image
• Typical settlement: 400 to 2,000 EUR per image

PicRights represents wire services and news photographers. Their claims for editorial images from major events tend to be higher because the original license fees for editorial content are substantial.

What affects the settlement amount

Not every image claim is the same. Several factors push the number up or down.

The type of image. A photograph from a professional photographer or major agency costs more to settle than a generic stock image. Editorial images from news events often carry higher damages because the original license fees are higher.

How long the image was on your site. An image that's been on your homepage for three years generates a larger claim than one that appeared in a blog post for two months. Enforcement companies often use the Wayback Machine to prove duration of use.

Commercial vs. non-commercial use. An image on a business website selling products is treated differently than one on a personal blog or non-profit. Commercial use drives higher settlement amounts.

The number of images. One image is one claim. But if an audit reveals five, ten or twenty unlicensed images on your site, the total adds up quickly. Sometimes you can negotiate a bulk settlement that brings the per-image cost down.

Whether you removed the image promptly. Cooperating and removing the image immediately doesn't eliminate the claim for past use. But it can work in your favour during negotiations. It shows good faith.

Your jurisdiction. German courts tend to award higher damages for copyright infringement than courts in the Netherlands or Belgium. The country where you're based and the country where the claim is filed both matter.

If you want to check your website for images that might trigger a copyright claim, run a free compliance scan. It can flag potential issues before an enforcement company finds them.

Real court decisions and settlement examples

These are amounts from publicly reported court decisions and media reports.

LG Hamburg, 2018. A German small business was ordered to pay 2,800 EUR for a single Getty Images photograph used on their company website without a license. The court calculated the standard license fee at 1,400 EUR and applied a 100% surcharge for unlicensed use.

AG München, 2019. A German sole proprietor settled with CopyTrack for 600 EUR for one image used on their blog. The original demand was 1,200 EUR. The settlement came after removing the image and responding within the deadline.

Dutch cases. In the Netherlands, the Rechtbank has awarded damages in the range of 250 to 1,500 EUR per image in copyright infringement cases involving websites. Dutch courts tend to award lower amounts than German courts.

Belgian cases. The Brussels enterprise court has handled several CopyTrack cases with settlements in the 500 to 1,000 EUR range per image.

What happens if you go to court vs. settle

Most copyright image claims settle out of court. Going to trial is expensive and unpredictable for both sides.

The case for settling:

You know the cost upfront. Legal fees stay low or zero. The matter closes quickly. Settlement is typically 40-60% of the initial demand. You avoid the stress and time commitment of litigation.

The case for going to court:

If you believe the claim is invalid. If you have a license you can prove. If the image isn't actually copyrighted. If the claimant doesn't own the rights they claim to own. In these situations, contesting the claim can make sense.

The cost of going to court:

In Germany, lawyer fees for a copyright case with a claim value of 3,000 EUR run around 500 to 1,000 EUR. If you lose, you typically pay the other side's legal costs too. That can bring the total to 2,000 to 3,000 EUR on top of the damages, which is more than the settlement would have been.

In the Netherlands, court costs are more predictable but still add up. Hiring a lawyer for an intellectual property dispute costs 150 to 350 EUR per hour. Even a straightforward case can cost 1,000 to 3,000 EUR in legal fees.

For most small businesses with a single-image claim under 2,000 EUR, settling is the practical choice.

How to negotiate a lower settlement

You can negotiate. Most enforcement companies expect it. Here are practical steps.

Respond within the deadline. Ignoring the letter doesn't make it go away. It often makes things worse, leading to escalation and higher legal costs. Acknowledge the claim within the stated timeframe.

Remove the image immediately. Take the image off your website and any cached versions you can control. This shows good faith and stops the usage clock from running further.

Ask for proof of ownership. Before paying anything, ask the claimant to prove they own the rights to the image. Ask for the original registration, the photographer's name and the license chain. Legitimate claimants can provide this.

Challenge the calculation. If the demand seems high, ask how they calculated the amount. What license fee are they basing it on? What surcharge percentage? If a comparable license would have cost 100 EUR, a demand of 3,000 EUR is disproportionate.

Propose a specific amount. Don't just ask for "less." Offer a concrete number based on what a standard license would have cost. If the regular license fee for the image is 200 EUR, offering 400 to 600 EUR for past unlicensed use is a reasonable starting point in many cases.

Get everything in writing. Any settlement agreement should be in writing, should specify the exact images covered and should state that the matter is fully resolved. Don't pay without a written settlement that closes the claim.

How to prevent this from happening again

Audit your website. Check every image on your site. Do you know where each one came from? Do you have a license for it? If you can't trace the source, the image is a risk. Our compliance scan checks for potential copyright issues.

Use images you're allowed to use. Options include photos you took yourself, images from genuinely free sources like Unsplash or Pexels with proper licenses, or images you've purchased a license for. Keep records of every license.

Check what your web designer used. Many copyright claims trace back to images a web designer or developer added during the build. If someone else built your site, you have no idea what they used unless you check. Read our guide on web designer copyright liability for more on this.

Remove images you can't verify. If you don't have proof that an image is properly licensed, replace it. The cost of a stock photo license is 5 to 50 EUR. The cost of a copyright claim is 500 to 5,000 EUR. The math is straightforward.

Common Questions

Can I ignore the letter and hope they go away?

Sometimes they do. Sometimes they escalate to a law firm, add legal costs and eventually file a court claim. Ignoring the letter is a gamble. If the claim is legitimate, responding early usually leads to a lower settlement than waiting for escalation.

The image was on a website my web developer built. Am I still liable?

Yes. As the website owner, you're responsible for the content on your site. You may have a claim against your web developer for the costs you incur, but the copyright holder comes after you first. See our guide on web designer copyright liability.

I found the image on Google Images. Isn't it free to use?

No. Google Images is a search engine, not a free image library. Most images in Google search results are copyrighted. Finding an image through Google doesn't give you a license to use it.

The image had no watermark or copyright notice. Does that matter?

No. Copyright exists automatically from the moment a photo is taken. The photographer doesn't need to add a watermark, copyright symbol or any notice. The absence of a watermark doesn't mean the image is free to use.

Can I just replace the image and ignore the claim?

Removing the image stops future infringement, but it doesn't resolve the claim for past use. The copyright holder is entitled to compensation for the period the image was on your site without a license.

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