DMCA takedown notice template

Replace everything in [square brackets]. Keep the numbered statements word for word: they are what the law asks for.

Subject: DMCA takedown notice – [FAKE DOMAIN] – ref [YOUR REFERENCE]

To the designated agent / abuse team of [HOSTING PROVIDER],

I am writing to notify you of material on your network that infringes copyright owned by [YOUR ORGANISATION], and to request its removal under 17 U.S.C. § 512(c).

1. Identification of the copyrighted work(s):
[Describe what was copied, e.g. "The text, photographs, logo and page design of our website at https://www.yoursite.com/, including the product photographs at https://www.yoursite.com/images/…"]

2. Identification of the infringing material and its location:
https://[FAKE DOMAIN]/ and the pages beneath it, hosted on IP address [IP ADDRESS] on your network.
[Optional: "The pages load [N] images directly from our own server, for example https://www.yoursite.com/images/…"]

3. Contact information:
[FULL NAME], [JOB TITLE], [YOUR ORGANISATION]
[POSTAL ADDRESS]
Email: [EMAIL] · Telephone: [PHONE]

4. Good-faith statement:
I have a good faith belief that use of the material in the manner complained of is not authorised by the copyright owner, its agent, or the law.

5. Statement of accuracy and authority:
The information in this notification is accurate, and under penalty of perjury, I am authorised to act on behalf of the owner of an exclusive right that is allegedly infringed.

6. Signature:
/s/ [FULL NAME]
[DATE]

Supporting evidence: archived copy at [WAYBACK MACHINE LINK]; screenshots taken [DATE AND TIME] available on request.

Please confirm when the material has been removed, quoting the reference above.

[FULL NAME]
[YOUR ORGANISATION]

The Digital Millennium Copyright Act is a United States law. Section 512(c)(3) lists what a notice must include for the host to be obliged to act on it:

1. A physical or electronic signature of a person authorised to act for the copyright owner. A typed “/s/ Your Name” is normally accepted.
2. Identification of the copyrighted work that has been infringed.
3. Identification of the infringing material and enough information to locate it: the URLs.
4. Your contact information: address, telephone number and email.
5. A statement that you have a good-faith belief the use is not authorised.
6. A statement that the information is accurate and, under penalty of perjury, that you are authorised to act for the owner of the right.

The template above covers all six, in order, so the person reading it can tick them off.

Often, yes. Many hosting providers outside the US accept DMCA-format notices because the format is familiar and complete. In the UK and EU, hosts that are told about clearly unlawful content and do nothing can lose their legal protection, and the EU's Digital Services Act requires hosting services to provide a way to submit notices. A notice with all six elements gives any host what it needs to act.

A copied website is usually more than a copyright problem. If it impersonates you to take payments or logins, send an abuse report alongside the notice (they can go in the same email) and report it to the domain registrar too. See how to report a fake website.

Be specific about what was copied

“Our website” is weaker than “the product photographs, descriptions and logo at these addresses”. Link to your originals so the reviewer can compare side by side in seconds.

Point to the evidence of copying

If the fake loads images directly from your server, say so and give one or two example URLs. It is hard to argue that content was independently created when it is still being served from your domain.

Use the right IP address

The host needs to find the site on its network. Give the IP address the domain resolves to. If it resolves to Cloudflare, the host is hidden; send the notice through Cloudflare's abuse form instead and it will be forwarded. Our hosting lookup guide explains how to tell.

Sign it as a real person

The signatory should be someone who can stand behind the statements: the owner, a director, or someone authorised by them. Use a work email on your own domain if you can; it is more credible than a free mailbox.

• The hosting provider's abuse address, found in the IP address's registry record (look for an abuse contact). Many hosts also publish a dedicated DMCA or copyright address on their website.
• The host's designated DMCA agent, if it is a US company: the US Copyright Office keeps a public directory of designated agents.
• Cloudflare's abuse form, if the site is behind Cloudflare. Choose the copyright category; Cloudflare passes it to the host and tells you who the host is.
• Search engines, to remove the copy from results, through their own copyright removal forms.

• Leaving out the good-faith or penalty-of-perjury statements, or rewording them.
• No URLs, or only the home page when the copied material is elsewhere.
• No postal address or telephone number.
• Sending it to the domain registrar only. Registrars generally do not handle copyright; they handle abuse such as fraud and phishing.
• Claiming content you do not own, such as manufacturer photos you are licensed to use. Misrepresentation in a DMCA notice can make you liable.
• Threatening language. It slows things down; facts speed them up.

Expect an automated acknowledgement, then either removal or a request for more information. If nothing happens within a few days, reply to the same thread, quote your reference and ask for an update. The site operator can send a counter-notice claiming the use is lawful; with a cloned site that rarely happens, because it would mean identifying themselves.

A Takedown Pack drafts this notice for you, with your details, the copied works, the IP address, the hotlinked-asset evidence and the archive link filled in, alongside the registrar, browser and anti-phishing reports. See the drafted notice in the sample pack.