Has a competitor copied your product photographs? Have your articles, marketing materials, or illustrations appeared on another website without your permission?

Copyright infringement online is becoming increasingly common. Product photographs, promotional images, website content, catalogues, blog articles, and other creative works are often copied and published without the copyright owner’s consent. Well-known brands such as Apple and LEGO regularly face unauthorized use of their official product images on e-commerce websites and online marketplaces.

Many copyright owners assume that litigation is the only available remedy. In reality, infringing content can often be removed much faster through statutory notice-and-takedown procedures or platform-specific copyright complaint mechanisms.

In Ukraine, copyright owners can rely on the notice-and-takedown procedure established by Articles 56 and 57 of the Law of Ukraine “On Copyright and Related Rights.” Where infringing content is indexed by Google or hosted on international platforms, the DMCA (Digital Millennium Copyright Act) may provide an additional and highly effective enforcement tool.

Removing Copyright-Infringing Content Under Ukrainian Law

Article 56 of the Law of Ukraine “On Copyright and Related Rights” establishes a formal procedure allowing copyright owners to request the removal of infringing online content without immediately initiating court proceedings.

The procedure consists of several stages.

Step 1. Filing a Notice

The copyright owner submits a notice requesting termination of the infringement to the website owner or the owner of the specific webpage containing the infringing content.

A copy of the notice must also be sent to the hosting service provider.

Step 2. Website Owner’s Response

After receiving the notice, the website owner has 48 hours to either:

  • disable access to the infringing content; or
  • provide a reasoned refusal explaining why the request is rejected.

If the website owner is not the person who uploaded the content, they must forward the notice to the webpage owner within 24 hours.

The webpage owner then has another 48 hours to respond.

If no action is taken, the website owner must independently disable access to the disputed content. The entire procedure should generally be completed within 96 hours after receipt of the initial notice.

Step 3. Contacting the Hosting Provider

If the website owner fails to respond within the statutory deadlines or cannot be identified because no contact information is available on the website or through publicly available WHOIS records, the copyright owner may submit the notice directly to the hosting provider.

The notice must include evidence that the initial request was previously sent to the website or webpage owner.

After receiving the complaint, the hosting provider forwards it to its customer and grants 48 hours to remove the content or submit a justified response.

If the infringement is not resolved within that period, the hosting provider must disable access to the infringing content and notify the copyright owner accordingly.

Preparing an Effective Copyright Notice

The success of the procedure often depends on the quality of the notice itself.

A proper notice should include:

  • information identifying the copyright owner or authorized representative;
  • identification of the copyrighted work;
  • the legal basis confirming ownership of the copyright;
  • the exact URL where the infringing content is located;
  • a request to cease the infringement;
  • contact details;
  • a declaration confirming the accuracy of the information provided.

Where the notice is submitted on behalf of a legal entity, Ukrainian law requires it to be signed by an attorney-at-law or a registered patent attorney, together with evidence of the representative’s authority.

The Role of Hosting Providers

Article 57 of the Law imposes specific obligations on hosting service providers.

Among other things, hosting providers are expected to prohibit copyright infringement in their service agreements and require customers to provide accurate contact information.

At the same time, hosting providers are protected from liability if they follow the statutory notice-and-takedown procedure established by Article 56.

Importantly, hosting providers are not expected to determine who is legally correct in a copyright dispute. Their responsibility is to follow the statutory procedure. This is why properly drafted notices and compliance with all formal requirements are essential.

How the Procedure Works in Practice

The statutory requirements are already reflected in the terms of service of many Ukrainian hosting companies.

For example, Hosting Ukraine requires customers to respect third-party intellectual property rights and promptly address infringement claims where justified.

Similarly, FreeHost prohibits hosting copyrighted materials without authorization and reserves the right to suspend services where copyright violations occur.

These examples demonstrate that Ukraine’s statutory notice-and-takedown procedure is not merely theoretical—it is incorporated into the contractual practices of major hosting providers.

DMCA: An Additional Tool for Copyright Enforcement

While Ukrainian law provides an effective mechanism for removing infringing content from websites, the Digital Millennium Copyright Act (DMCA) offers an additional enforcement option where infringing content appears in Google Search or on many international online platforms.

The DMCA, adopted in the United States in 1998, introduced the well-known notice-and-takedown system that has become the global standard for handling copyright complaints.

Google, YouTube, and numerous other online platforms process copyright removal requests under similar procedures.

Filing a DMCA Complaint with Google

Google provides an online copyright removal form through its Legal Help Center.

A typical complaint requires:

  • the complainant’s contact information;
  • confirmation of copyright ownership or authorization to act on behalf of the copyright owner;
  • the URL where the original copyrighted content is available (where applicable);
  • the URL containing the infringing material;
  • a brief explanation of the infringement;
  • declarations confirming the accuracy of the complaint and the complainant’s good-faith belief that the use is unauthorized.

As a practical matter, it is advisable to collect all infringing URLs before filing a complaint. Multiple URLs can often be included in one request, although larger infringement campaigns may require several separate submissions.

What Results Can Be Expected?

The DMCA procedure generally removes infringing pages from Google Search results rather than deleting the content from the website itself.

Although the content may technically remain online, it becomes significantly less visible because users can no longer easily find it through Google’s organic search results.

This mechanism is particularly effective for unauthorized use of product photographs, advertising images, product catalogues, and other visual content where ownership can be clearly demonstrated.

Conclusion

If your photographs, articles, promotional materials, or other copyrighted works are being used without permission, prompt action is essential.

In many cases, copyright infringement can be resolved considerably faster than through court proceedings by submitting a properly prepared notice to the website owner, hosting provider, Google, or another online platform.

Many marketplaces, social media platforms, and online services also maintain their own copyright complaint procedures, allowing rights holders to remove infringing content efficiently.

Choosing the appropriate enforcement mechanism at an early stage significantly increases the likelihood of a swift and successful outcome.

At Synergy IP Law Agency, we assist copyright owners in identifying the most effective enforcement strategy, preparing legally compliant takedown notices, communicating with website owners and hosting providers, filing DMCA complaints, and ensuring that infringing content is removed as quickly as possible.

Author: Daria Bezpalko