CopyTrack, PicRights, or Getty: Is That Letter Legitimate?

A letter shows up claiming you owe 800 euros for an image on your website. The sender is a company you've never heard of. Your first thought: is this even real?

It's a fair question. Copyright demand letters are a legitimate part of intellectual property enforcement. But scammers know that too, and they send fake versions hoping you'll pay out of fear.

Here's how to tell the difference.

The main copyright enforcement agencies

Three companies send the vast majority of image copyright claims in Europe. Each one works differently, but all three are real and legally active.

Getty Images is the largest stock photo agency in the world. They own a massive library of photos, illustrations and video clips. Getty sends demand letters directly and also works through sub-agents. If your letter comes from Getty Images on their letterhead with a specific image reference number, it's almost certainly legitimate.

PicRights is a Swiss-based company that enforces copyrights on behalf of photographers and agencies, including Getty Images. They use image recognition software to scan the web for unauthorized use. PicRights is a real company, registered in Zurich, with an active legal department. They've won cases in courts across Europe.

CopyTrack is a Berlin-based enforcement platform. Photographers upload their portfolios, and CopyTrack's software finds unauthorized copies across the internet. CopyTrack works on a commission basis, taking a percentage of whatever they collect. They're also legitimate and have pursued cases in German, Dutch and Austrian courts.

Other names you might see: Pixsy based in Amsterdam, Permission Machine from the Netherlands and various law firms acting on behalf of individual photographers.

How to verify a demand letter is real

Follow these steps before responding or paying anything.

1. Check the sender's identity.

Look up the company that sent the letter. Do they have a real website with contact information, a physical address and a company registration number? CopyTrack is registered at the Handelsregister in Berlin. PicRights has a Swiss commercial register entry. Getty Images is publicly listed.

If the letter comes from a company with no web presence, a Gmail address, or a website that was registered last month, that's a red flag.

2. Verify the image claim.

A legitimate demand letter will include:

• A copy or thumbnail of the specific image they claim you used
• The URL where the image was found on your website
• The name of the copyright holder
• A specific monetary demand
• A reference or case number

If the letter makes vague claims without identifying the specific image or URL, be suspicious.

3. Check if the image was actually on your site.

Search your website's media library, content management system and cached pages. Try the Wayback Machine at web.archive.org to check older versions of your site. The image might have been removed months ago, but the claim can still be valid if they documented it while it was live.

4. Verify copyright ownership.

The letter should state who owns the copyright. You can cross-reference this by:

• Doing a reverse image search on Google or TinEye to find the original source
• Checking Getty's own search at gettyimages.com
• Looking up the photographer's portfolio if a name is given

If the agency claims to represent a photographer, look up that photographer. Do they exist? Do they have a portfolio showing this image?

5. Check the payment method.

Legitimate agencies accept bank transfers to business accounts and sometimes credit card payments. Be suspicious if they only accept cryptocurrency, Western Union, gift cards or transfers to personal accounts. PicRights uses IBAN bank transfers. Getty Images typically sends invoices payable by bank transfer. CopyTrack handles payments through their platform.

Red flags that suggest a scam

Not every demand letter is legitimate. Watch for these warning signs:

No specific image identified. Real claims always reference a specific photo with proof it appeared on your site. A letter that says "you are using copyrighted content" without showing you exactly what they mean is likely fake.

Threatening immediate legal action. Legitimate agencies typically give you 14 to 30 days to respond. A letter demanding payment within 48 hours "or we file a lawsuit tomorrow" is applying pressure tactics. Real lawsuits take months to prepare.

Asking for payment to a personal account. Enforcement agencies have business bank accounts. If the payment details point to a personal name with a non-business IBAN, don't send money.

No company registration details. EU businesses are required to include registration information in official correspondence. A Dutch company should show their KVK number. A German company shows their Handelsregister entry. No registration? Suspicious.

Massively inflated amounts with no breakdown. Legitimate claims typically range from 200 to 5,000 euros per image, depending on the image's commercial value and how long it was used. A claim for 25,000 euros for a single blog post thumbnail from an unknown photographer doesn't pass the smell test.

The "agency" has no track record. Google the company name plus "copyright" or "demand letter." Legitimate agencies like CopyTrack, PicRights and Getty have thousands of search results, forum discussions and legal case references. A company nobody has ever mentioned online is worth questioning.

What these agencies can legally demand

Under EU copyright law, specifically Directive 2004/48/EC on the enforcement of intellectual property rights, copyright holders can claim:

The license fee they lost. This is what you would have paid to use the image legally. For a standard stock photo, that's typically 30 to 500 euros depending on the image type and usage.

Additional damages. Courts in the Netherlands and Germany have upheld claims for 2-3x the license fee as a deterrent. The reasoning: if infringers only had to pay the license fee they skipped, there'd be no incentive to buy licenses.

Investigation costs. The cost of finding the unauthorized use, which agencies argue includes their software and staff time.

Legal costs. If the case goes to court and you lose, you'll typically pay the other side's legal fees too.

In practice, most single-image settlements land between 300 and 1,500 euros. Multi-image cases can be higher.

What to do if the letter is real

Remove the image. Do this immediately, regardless of whether you plan to dispute the claim.

Don't ignore the letter. Agencies escalate. First comes a reminder. Then a lawyer's letter. Then court proceedings. Each step adds costs.

Respond in writing. Acknowledge the letter, confirm you've removed the image, and ask any questions you have about the claim. Keep your tone professional.

Negotiate the amount. The first number is rarely the final number. Most businesses settle for 30-50% of the original demand. Be polite but firm. You can say something like: "I acknowledge the image was on my site. I've removed it immediately. I'd like to settle this matter and would like to discuss a reasonable resolution."

Get legal advice for claims above 2,000 euros. A lawyer specializing in intellectual property can often negotiate a significantly better settlement and will spot weaknesses in the agency's claim that you might miss.

Check your website for other unlicensed images while you're dealing with the first claim. A free compliance scan checks for stock photo CDN patterns and known copyright agency URLs across your entire site.

What to do if you think the letter is fake

Don't respond with personal or payment information. If you suspect a scam, don't give them anything they can use.

Report it. In the Netherlands, report suspected fraud to the police via politie.nl or to the Autoriteit Consument & Markt. In Germany, contact the Verbraucherzentrale.

Keep the letter. Save it as evidence in case the scam is being reported by others.

If in doubt, verify independently. Contact the alleged agency directly using contact details from their official website, not the phone number or email in the letter. Ask them to confirm the claim reference number.

Common questions

Is CopyTrack a legitimate company?

Yes. CopyTrack GmbH is a registered German company based in Berlin. They've been operating since 2015 and have pursued copyright cases in courts across Europe. Their business model is legitimate: they help photographers find and collect payment for unauthorized use of their images.

Can PicRights take me to court?

Yes. PicRights has standing to pursue legal action on behalf of the copyright holders they represent. They have successfully litigated cases in Switzerland, Germany, the Netherlands and other EU countries. Their claims carry the same legal weight as a direct claim from the photographer.

How long do I have to respond to a demand letter?

Most letters give you 14 to 30 days. There's no legal requirement to respond within that exact timeframe, but ignoring the deadline signals that you're not engaging. Respond within the given period, even if your response is just acknowledging receipt and asking for more time.

What if I already deleted the image before receiving the letter?

Removing the image doesn't cancel the claim. The agencies document the unauthorized use with screenshots and timestamps before sending the letter. You still used the image without a license for the period it was live. However, voluntary removal before being contacted can be a factor in negotiating a lower settlement.

Can these agencies see images behind a password-protected page?

Generally, no. CopyTrack, PicRights and Getty use web crawlers similar to Google's. If a page isn't publicly accessible, their software can't scan it. But if the image file itself is accessible via a direct URL even when the page isn't linked anywhere, crawlers might still find it.

---

Not sure if your website has other image compliance risks? Run a free scan at trustyourwebsite.nl. It checks your entire site in under 30 seconds.