My Web Designer Used Copyrighted Images — Am I Liable?

A copyright demand letter just arrived. You didn't choose the image. You didn't upload it. Your web designer did.

Doesn't matter. You're still on the hook.

That's the short answer, and it's the one most business owners don't want to hear. But before you panic, there's more to the story. You have options, and you may be able to recover costs from the designer who caused this mess.

Why the website owner is liable

Under EU copyright law, the person who publishes copyrighted content is responsible for it. That's the website owner. Not the designer, not the hosting company, not the intern who wrote the blog post.

Think of it like renting a shop. If your interior decorator hangs a stolen painting on your wall, the police still come to your address. You're the one displaying it publicly.

Getty Images, CopyTrack and PicRights don't care who uploaded the photo. They see their image on your domain, and they send the bill to the domain owner.

This principle has been upheld in courts across the Netherlands, Germany and the rest of the EU. The Landgericht München ruled in 2019 that the website operator bears responsibility regardless of who selected the content.

Your designer might still owe you money

Here's the good news. While you're responsible to the copyright holder, your web designer may be responsible to you.

If your designer used unlicensed images without telling you, they've likely breached their contract. Even if there was no written contract, Dutch law implies a duty of care in professional services. A web designer who uses stolen images isn't delivering work of reasonable quality.

This gives you a potential claim against your designer for:

• The settlement amount you pay to the copyright holder
• Any legal fees you incur
• Time and business disruption costs

Check your contract first. Look for clauses about intellectual property, content ownership and liability. Some designers include clauses that shift all content responsibility to the client. If yours did, recovering costs gets harder.

No written contract? You still have rights under Dutch civil law, specifically Book 7, Title 7 of the Burgerlijk Wetboek. But proving the designer's responsibility takes more work.

What to do right now

1. Remove the image immediately.

Don't wait. Take it off your website today. This stops the damages from accumulating and shows good faith.

2. Document everything.

Take screenshots of the image on your site before removing it. Save all communication with your designer about the website project. Find any invoices, briefs or emails where images were discussed.

3. Ask your designer for image sources.

Send a written request by email asking your designer to provide the source and license for every image they used on your site. Their response tells you a lot:

• They provide licenses? Great. Forward them to the copyright claimant.
• They go quiet? That's a red flag. They probably know the images aren't licensed.
• They claim the images were "free"? Ask for proof. Many designers grab images from Google Image Search thinking they're free to use. They're not.

4. Respond to the demand letter.

Don't ignore it. Acknowledge the claim, confirm you've removed the image, and ask for proof of copyright ownership. If the amount is above 1,000 euros, talk to a lawyer before agreeing to anything.

Most claims settle for 30-50% of the initial demand if you respond promptly and cooperate.

5. Audit the rest of your website.

If one image was unlicensed, there might be more. Run a free compliance scan to check for stock photo patterns across your entire site. One demand letter is bad enough. Three at once is a nightmare.

How to recover costs from your designer

Once you've settled the copyright claim, you can go after your designer. Here's what works:

Start with a written demand. Send a formal letter or email with delivery confirmation, explaining the situation and requesting reimbursement. Include copies of the copyright demand, your settlement payment and the evidence that the designer chose the image.

Many designers will pay at this stage. They know they're at fault and want to avoid further conflict.

If they refuse, consider mediation. Before jumping to court, mediation through the Dutch ADR system is faster and cheaper. Most disputes under 5,000 euros can be resolved this way.

Small claims court as a last resort. In the Netherlands, claims under 25,000 euros go to the kantonrechter, the sub-district court. You don't need a lawyer for this, though having one helps. Court fees start at around 90 euros for claims under 500 euros.

Keep your expectations realistic. If your designer is a freelancer with no assets, winning a judgment doesn't guarantee you'll collect.

How to prevent this from happening again

The average copyright claim costs between 300 and 1,500 euros in settlement fees. Prevention costs nothing.

Put it in the contract. Any future web design agreement should include a clause requiring the designer to use only properly licensed images and to provide proof of licensing upon request. Add an indemnification clause stating the designer is liable for copyright claims arising from their work.

Use a shared stock photo account. Set up your own account on Unsplash, Pexels or a paid service like Shutterstock. Give your designer access. This way you always know where the images come from and you hold the licenses yourself.

Ask for an image log. For every image on your site, you should have a record of: where it came from, what license applies, when the license was obtained. Some designers resist this. That's a warning sign.

Run periodic scans. Your website changes over time. New blog posts, updated pages, seasonal banners. Each change is an opportunity for unlicensed content to slip in. A quarterly compliance scan catches problems before they become demand letters.

What NOT to do

Don't blame the designer in your response to the copyright holder. They don't care about your internal arrangements. Saying "my designer did it" doesn't reduce your liability. It just makes you look like you're dodging responsibility.

Don't delete the image and pretend nothing happened. The copyright enforcement agency already has timestamped evidence. Deleting without responding makes you look like you're hiding something.

Don't threaten your designer publicly. A bad Google review or social media post about your designer could expose you to a defamation claim. Handle it privately and professionally.

Don't assume this was a one-time mistake. Designers who use unlicensed images once tend to do it across all their projects. If they built your whole site, check every page.

Common questions

My web designer says the images were from a free website. Am I safe?

Not necessarily. Many "free image" websites host copyrighted content illegally. The only safe sources are properly licensed stock photo platforms, Creative Commons CC0 images with verified provenance, or images you took yourself. "I found it on Google" is never a valid defense.

Can I sue my web designer for the full amount Getty demands?

You can claim the amount you actually pay in settlement, plus reasonable costs you incurred dealing with the claim. You can't claim the inflated original demand amount if you settled for less. Courts look at actual damages.

How do I check if my other website images are copyrighted?

Every image is copyrighted by default under EU law. The question is whether you have a license to use it. Run a free scan of your website to detect stock photo CDN patterns and known copyright agency URLs. Then ask your designer for documentation on every image.

What if my web designer has gone out of business?

If they operated as a sole trader, known as an eenmanszaak in the Netherlands, you can still pursue the individual personally. If they operated through a BV that has been dissolved, recovery is much harder. In that case, focus on settling the copyright claim for the lowest amount possible and chalk it up to a hard lesson.

Should I hire a lawyer for a single image claim under 1,000 euros?

For claims under 1,000 euros, a lawyer's fees often exceed the settlement amount. You can handle the negotiation yourself. Remove the image, respond politely, ask for proof of ownership and offer 30-50% of the demanded amount. Save the lawyer for multi-image claims or amounts above 2,000 euros.

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Don't wait for a demand letter to find out what's on your website. Scan your site for free at trustyourwebsite.nl and check for image compliance risks in 30 seconds.