Notice of Copyright Infringement

A copyright infringement notice is a document sent by a copyright owner (or its agent) to a website informing the site operator that it contains unauthorized copyrighted material.

The purpose of this type of notice is to ask the website owner to remove the infringing material. Regardless of the situation, this notice of copyright infringement will allow a copyright owner or its agent to send a communication alerting the website operator of the ongoing infringement.

This is similar to a request for removal of content and a cease and desist letter in intellectual property matters, but with some important differences. In a content removal request, the sender requests the removal of content, but it does not have to be infringing material. It is possible to request removal of content in a content removal letter for any reason. In a cease and desist letter for intellectual property, the content does not necessarily have to be in violation of copyright, it can also be in violation of a trademark.

How to use this document?

This document is fairly short and simple. It requires only the information necessary to identify the copyrighted material being infringed. This information includes a description of the material and the electronic link(s) (URL) where it can be found. It also includes the contact information of the website operator or copyright agent. No additional information should be attached.

The rest of the information is already complete, as most copyright infringement notices should contain only the basic facts.

When this document is completed, it should be signed or electronically signed and sent to the website's copyright agent or the operator itself. This information is often stated in the website's policy (or perhaps in their terms and conditions).

Applicable Law

In Canada, the Copyright Act (R.S.C., 1985, c. C-42) protects literary, dramatic, musical and artistic works as well as existing works fixed in a medium.

How to modify the template?

You fill out a form. The document is created before your eyes as you respond to the questions.

At the end, you receive it in Word and PDF formats. You can modify it and reuse it.