How to write a removal notice that gets a pirated copy taken down

A removal notice is a short letter that tells a website, or the company that hosts it, that a page is giving away your work without permission, and asks for it to be taken down. In the United States it is usually called a DMCA notice, after the law that describes it. Hosting companies and platforms around the world accept the same form.

You do not need a lawyer to send one. You do need to get it right, because it is a statement made under penalty of perjury. This guide is not legal advice.

What a notice has to contain

The law lists six things. A notice missing any of them can be set aside without an answer.

What your work is. Its title and a link to where it is sold: “my video course, Watercolor Foundations, sold at example.com/watercolor”.
Where the copy is. The exact address of the page, not just the name of the site.
How to reach you. Your name, postal address, email address, and a phone number if you have one.
A statement of good faith. That you believe the use is not authorized by you, your agent or the law.
A statement of accuracy. That the information in the notice is accurate, and, under penalty of perjury, that you are the owner or are authorized to act for the owner.
Your signature. Your full name, typed, is enough.

Keep it plain. Say what the work is, where the copy is, and what you want done. Threats and long explanations do not help.

Who to send it to

In rough order of how well it works:

A platform’s own report form. If the copy is on YouTube, Google Drive, Blogspot, MEGA, Dropbox, GitHub, Reddit or Telegram, use that platform’s copyright form. Platforms act on these routinely.
The hosting company. Every website is hosted by someone, and hosts act on notices because the law protects them only if they do. A lookup of the site’s domain shows the registrar and often the host, each with an abuse address.
The website itself. Look for a page called DMCA, Copyright or Contact. Some pirate sites do remove pages when asked. Many never reply.
Search engines. A request to Google takes the page out of search results even when the site ignores you. It is a separate request with its own form.

Send it from your own email address. A notice carries more weight coming from the owner of the work, and replies come back to you.

Mistakes that get a notice ignored

Pointing at a home page. Give the address of the page with your work on it.
Leaving out the sworn statements. Without them it is a complaint, not a notice.
Reporting something that is not a copy. A review, a discussion, an affiliate page or an authorized reseller is not infringement. Look at the page before you report it.
Sending it to the wrong place. A generic info@ address rarely reaches anyone who can act. Find the abuse or copyright contact.

That third mistake matters most. Knowingly sending a false notice can make you liable for the other side’s costs.

After you send it

Note the date. Check the page after a few days. If it is gone, check again a few weeks later: copies come back.

If you hear nothing in two weeks, try the next route on the list. If the other side sends a counter-notice saying the material is theirs, stop and speak to a lawyer before you reply.

The part that takes the time

Writing one notice is not hard. Finding every copy, working out who to send each notice to, and remembering to check each page afterwards is what wears people down.

Copyhound finds the copies, works out the contact, and writes the notice from a fixed template with your details filled in. You read it and send it yourself. It then checks the page every day and tells you when it is gone, or if it comes back.