Accused of IP Infringement: What to Do (and Not Do) First
Accused of copyright, trademark, or patent infringement? What to do first, what never to say, real deadlines, and how demand letters and lawsuits actually end.
An email lands with the subject line “Unauthorized Use of Copyrighted Material,” or a thick envelope arrives from a law firm you’ve never heard of, or Amazon suspends your best-selling listing overnight because of an “intellectual property complaint.” Your stomach drops. The letter demands thousands of dollars, cites statutes you’ve never read, and gives you fourteen days. If you’ve been accused of copyright infringement, trademark infringement, or patent infringement, this guide is the map: what to do in the first 48 hours, what never to do, how each type of accusation actually plays out, and when to bring in a lawyer. It’s the hub for a set of deeper defense-side guides linked throughout.
First 48 hours: what to do (and what not to do)
Whatever form the accusation takes, the opening playbook is nearly identical.
Do:
- Read the whole thing, slowly. Identify who is claiming rights, what work or mark or patent they claim, what you allegedly did, what they demand, and by when. Vague letters that never identify a specific registered work are a signal in themselves.
- Calendar every deadline immediately. Some deadlines in IP disputes are soft negotiating pressure; others are brutally real (a lawsuit answer deadline, a 60-day Copyright Claims Board opt-out window, a marketplace appeal window). Treat them all as real until you know which is which.
- Preserve evidence — including the accused material. Screenshot the accused page or listing before changing anything. Save the letter, the envelope, the email headers. If you have proof of where you got the image, who designed your logo, or when you started using the name, gather it now. Once a dispute is reasonably foreseeable, deleting relevant material can constitute spoliation of evidence and hurt you badly later.
- Quietly assess your license trail. Did you buy the stock photo? Does your web designer’s contract say they cleared the images? Did a vendor supply the accused product? Indemnification from a vendor or designer may exist — and so may insurance coverage, discussed below.
Don’t:
- Don’t ignore it (with narrow exceptions covered below). Silence converts weak claims into defaults and small problems into suspended accounts.
- Don’t fire back an angry reply. Everything you write can be quoted in a complaint. “I dare you to sue me” reads differently in front of a judge.
- Don’t admit anything. “Sorry, I didn’t realize” confirms the use, timestamps your knowledge, and can turn an innocent-infringement posture into a willful one. Willfulness matters: willful copyright infringement can raise statutory damages to $150,000 per work, as our guide to copyright statutory damages explains.
- Don’t call the claimant to “just explain.” Phone calls create disputed recollections and recorded admissions.
- Don’t pay the sticker price on day one. Opening demands are negotiating positions, routinely inflated several times over any realistic outcome.
A note on taking the material down: removing an accused image or product is often the practical right move — it stops damages from accruing and shows good faith. But do it without a written confession, and understand that removal doesn’t erase past liability. It changes the negotiation, not the legal claim.
Is this threat real, or a form letter?
Not all accusations deserve the same respect. Sorting them early saves money.
Signs of a serious claim: a specific, identified rights holder; a U.S. copyright registration number or trademark registration you can verify in public databases; a law firm with a real litigation record (searchable on federal court dockets); a demand tailored to your actual use; a coherent legal theory.
Signs of a troll form letter: mass-produced text with your name mail-merged in; demands wildly out of proportion to any plausible license fee; escalating “pay now or the price doubles” pressure tactics; no verifiable registration; a sender that is a collection agency rather than a law firm. The stock-photo demand-letter industry — Higbee & Associates, PicRights, Copytrack, and their kin — operates at industrial scale, and our guide to responding to a copyright demand letter breaks down how those letters work and how they actually resolve.
Even “troll” letters can be backed by real rights, though. The label describes the business model, not the legal merit. Some high-volume senders do sue, selectively. That’s why the assessment step matters: you’re deciding how much attention a claim deserves, not whether the law applies to you.
The defense journey, stage by stage
IP accusations arrive through a handful of channels, and each has its own guide in this cluster.
Stage 1: The demand letter or cease-and-desist
Most disputes start with a letter. For copyright — typically a photo, text, or design you (or your web developer) used — start with I got a copyright demand letter — now what?, which covers validity checks, realistic exposure math, and response options. For trademark — someone claims your business name, logo, or product name infringes theirs — see what to do when you receive a trademark cease-and-desist. Patent demand letters are their own animal, usually aimed at businesses rather than individuals; before panicking, understand what patent litigation actually costs and how long it takes — the economics drive everything.
Stage 2: The platform takedown
If your content vanished from YouTube, Instagram, or your web host because of a DMCA notice, you’re in the notice-and-takedown system under 17 U.S.C. § 512. You may be able to file a counter-notice and get the content restored — but doing so invites a lawsuit as the price of restoration. The DMCA counter-notice guide walks through when fighting back makes sense and when it’s a trap.
Stage 3: The marketplace complaint
Amazon, Etsy, and eBay run private IP-enforcement systems that move faster and more bluntly than any court: a complaint can delist your product or suspend your account within days, no judge involved. The appeal process, retraction strategy, and counterfeit-versus-infringement distinctions are covered in what to do about an Amazon or Etsy IP complaint against you.
Stage 4: Copyright small claims (the CCB)
Since June 2022, copyright owners can skip federal court and file at the Copyright Claims Board, a small-claims tribunal inside the U.S. Copyright Office with damages capped at $30,000. Here’s the twist that catches respondents: it’s voluntary, but only if you opt out within 60 days — do nothing and you’re bound, including by a default award. The CCB explained covers the opt-out decision, which is genuinely strategic and cuts both ways.
Stage 5: The lawsuit
A minority of disputes reach federal court, but when a process server hands you a summons, the clock is unforgiving — typically 21 days to respond under the Federal Rules, and default judgment follows if you don’t. Sued for copyright infringement covers what happens next: answer versus motion to dismiss, discovery, the defenses that actually work, and why the vast majority of filed cases still settle. And because settlement value is driven by damages exposure, read it alongside how copyright statutory damages really work — the $150,000 number in every demand letter is a ceiling for willful infringement of timely-registered works, not a default.
Stage 6: Who pays for all this?
Here’s the step people skip until it’s too late: check your insurance the day the claim arrives. Many commercial general liability policies cover certain “advertising injury” claims — including some copyright and trade-dress claims — and the insurer’s duty to defend can put a law firm on your case at the insurer’s expense. But late notice can forfeit coverage. Does insurance cover IP claims? explains what CGL Coverage B does and doesn’t reach, the patent exclusion, and the media-liability policies creators should consider.
Deadlines that actually bite
A quick reference, because these are the ones that turn ignorable paper into judgments:
| Document | Deadline | If you miss it |
|---|---|---|
| Demand letter “respond by” date | Negotiable pressure | Usually escalation, not judgment |
| DMCA counter-notice → restoration | Platform restores in 10–14 business days unless sender sues | Content stays down |
| CCB claim notice | 60 days to opt out | Bound by proceeding; default award possible |
| Federal lawsuit summons | 21 days to respond (typically) | Default judgment |
| Marketplace complaint appeal | Platform-specific, often days | Listing/account stays down |
| Insurance notice | ”Prompt” per policy | Coverage can be forfeited |
Why most claims settle — and what that means for you
The economics of IP litigation push almost everyone toward resolution. Federal copyright litigation routinely costs each side six figures through discovery; patent cases multiply that. Claimants know it, defendants know it, and insurers know it. The result: opening demands are anchors, not prices. Photo claims that open at $8,000 routinely resolve for a fraction of that; trademark disputes end in coexistence agreements or phase-out periods; even filed lawsuits overwhelmingly settle before trial.
For you, that means two things. First, panic-paying the first number is almost always overpaying. Second, your leverage comes from the boring early steps: preserved evidence, no admissions, a sober read of the claim’s actual strength (was the work even registered? is the mark actually confusingly similar? does fair use plausibly apply?), and a realistic damages calculation. Settlement is a negotiation, and negotiations are won on preparation.
When to hire a lawyer
You don’t need counsel for every takedown notice. You very likely do when:
- You’ve been served with a lawsuit or received a CCB notice (the opt-out decision alone warrants advice).
- The demand exceeds a few thousand dollars, or the sender has a real litigation track record.
- The accused use is core to your business — your brand name, your best-selling product — rather than one blog image.
- A trademark claim threatens to force a rebrand; the cost of being wrong dwarfs the consult fee.
- You might have coverage or indemnification — a lawyer can tender the claim properly.
- You’re tempted to assert fair use, independent creation, or invalidity — defenses that are real but easy to overestimate from a blog post.
Many IP attorneys handle demand-letter responses on flat fees in the low four figures — often less than the discount a represented party negotiates off the demand.
The other side of the table
One more piece of perspective: everything in this cluster has a mirror image. The letters you’re receiving are the same instruments this site covers from other angles — a plain-English primer on trademark cease-and-desist letters, how patent cease-and-desist letters are drafted and answered, and how DMCA takedowns are sent. Understanding how these instruments are built is one of the fastest ways to understand what the letter in your hand is actually trying to accomplish — and which parts are theater. You can also browse how real disputes resolved in the copyright case archive and the trademark case archive.
The bottom line
Being accused of IP infringement is frightening precisely because the accusers design it to be — deadlines, statutory citations, and big numbers arrive before you’ve had coffee. But the process is navigable: don’t ignore it, don’t vent, don’t confess; preserve everything; sort real threats from form letters; check your insurance; and match your response to the channel, whether that’s a demand letter, a DMCA takedown, a marketplace complaint, a CCB notice, or a lawsuit. Most claims end in a negotiated number far below the opening demand, and the accused parties who do best are the ones who stayed calm in week one.
This article is general legal information for educational purposes only. It is not legal advice, does not create an attorney-client relationship, and may not reflect the most current law in your area. Infringement accusations turn on specific facts. For advice about your situation, consult an attorney licensed in your jurisdiction.
Frequently asked questions
What should I do first if I'm accused of copyright or trademark infringement?
Don't ignore it and don't respond in anger. Read the letter carefully, calendar every deadline it mentions, preserve everything related to the accused material (including the material itself — don't delete it), and figure out who is actually claiming what rights. Then assess whether the claim is a genuine dispute or a mass-mailed form letter. For anything beyond a routine platform takedown, a consultation with an IP attorney early is far cheaper than fixing a mistake later.
Should I ignore a copyright infringement letter?
Almost never. Some mass-mailed demand letters do fizzle if ignored, but ignoring is a strategy you should choose deliberately after assessing the sender, not a default. Ignoring an actual lawsuit leads to default judgment, ignoring a Copyright Claims Board notice without opting out can lead to an enforceable default award, and ignoring marketplace complaints can get your Amazon or Etsy account suspended. At minimum, read it, calendar the deadlines, and evaluate how real the threat is.
Will admitting I used the image or name make the case go away faster?
No — written admissions are the single most damaging thing accused parties volunteer. Saying 'I didn't know' or 'I already took it down' feels cooperative, but it confirms use, can undercut defenses like independent creation or fair use, and gives the claimant leverage. Removing the material is often smart as a practical matter, but do it without a written confession of liability. Let any acknowledgment come later, in a negotiated settlement with a release.
Do most IP infringement claims actually go to trial?
No. The overwhelming majority of IP disputes settle or resolve without trial — demand letters settle for a fraction of the opening number, platform disputes end at the takedown/counter-notice stage, and even filed federal lawsuits settle far more often than they're tried. That's why your early moves matter: preserving evidence, avoiding admissions, and understanding your realistic exposure determine your negotiating position, and the negotiation is usually the whole game.
