How to get a reposted photo taken down: DMCA notices from the UAE

To get a reposted photo taken down, file a copyright notice with the platform that hosts the repost, using that platform's own report form, and include the six things US copyright law asks for: your signature, the original work, the infringing link, your contact details, a good-faith statement and a statement of accuracy made under penalty of perjury. I do this from Dubai, and it has worked for me, but only when the notice is complete and I find the repost first.

My portrait and lifestyle photos get reposted on Instagram, X, Reddit and Facebook without credit. Some of it is flattering. Some of it is a stranger's account using my picture to sell something. I am a photographer, not a lawyer, so treat this as how I work and not as legal advice.

How do I find reposts of my photos?

Manually, with Google Lens. I tried the free reverse-image options first and they barely index Instagram, which is where most of my reposts live, so they found almost nothing. I also applied to Meta's Rights Manager, which I hoped would automate this, and my application was rejected. I don't know why, so I won't guess.

What does work is dull: take the original, run it through Google Lens, open the matches, and check each one by hand. I do it in batches rather than daily. It will not catch everything, and a repost inside a private account or a Story that has already expired is invisible to me.

What must a DMCA takedown notice contain?

The DMCA is a US law, Section 512 of Title 17. It lists six elements a notice needs. Leave one out and the platform can reject the notice. These are the six, in plain words:

• A physical or electronic signature of the copyright owner or a person authorised to act for them.
• Identification of the copyrighted work. For me that is the link to my original post, or the file.
• Identification of the infringing material, with enough detail for the platform to find it. This is the exact URL of the repost, not the account's homepage.
• Your contact details, so the platform can reach you.
• A statement that you have a good-faith belief the use is not authorised by the owner, its agent or the law.
• A statement that the information in the notice is accurate, and, under penalty of perjury, that you are authorised to act for the owner.

The statute also makes it costly to lie. Anyone who knowingly and materially misrepresents that something is infringing can be liable for the other side's damages, costs and legal fees. So before you file, ask yourself whether the poster could have a licence, whether you shot it for a client who owns the rights, or whether the use could be fair. If you are not sure, find out first.

Who owns the photo, me or my client?

That depends on the contract, and it decides who can file. A notice has to come from the owner or someone authorised for the owner. If you shot for a brand, check what you agreed before you send anything, and tell the client. I don't know the terms of your contract, so I can't answer this one for you.

Where do I file on each platform?

Each platform has its own form. These are the ones I have confirmed are live, and what each says:

• Instagram: the Copyright Report Form. It is for alleged infringement on Instagram or Threads. As I read it, your name, email and the nature of the report can be passed on to the person who posted, so use a business address.
• Facebook: the rights-reporting form. It asks whether the right is copyright or trademark, and copyright takes you on to the report.
• X: the copyright report form in X's Help Center, linked from its copyright policy. Give the direct link to the post. X says a link to a profile page alone is not enough to find the material.
• TikTok: the copyright report form, which is for infringement in user-generated content. It warns that false claims can lead to losing access to the form and to legal consequences.
• Google Search: Google's legal help page links to its removal request. Give the specific URL, not the site's homepage, and file a separate notice for each Google product where the content appears. That removes the page from search results, and the page itself stays up on the other site.
• Reddit: the request form in Reddit Help. Pick the copyright option, give the direct link to the post or comment, and include the full notice in the description, because the form itself does not prompt for every element.

Does a US law work for a photographer in the UAE?

In practice, yes, on these platforms. They are US companies, and their forms are built around the DMCA. Google says it complies with the DMCA's requirements, and X says it responds to copyright complaints submitted under it. You file from anywhere. The notice is sent to the platform, not to a court.

The UAE has its own law, Federal Decree-Law No. 38 of 2021 on Copyrights and Neighbouring Rights, which came into force on 2 January 2022. I have not used it against a repost and I am not qualified to explain how it applies to photographs, so for anything beyond a platform report, talk to a UAE lawyer.

How do I prove the photo is mine?

Show where it first appeared. My originals are usually posted as collab posts with my account tagged, so the original post itself shows who made it. I link to that post in the notice. Keep the raw file with its timestamp as well, because the file is the strongest proof you have.

What happens after I file, and what is a counter-notice?

If the notice is complete, the platform takes the post down and, under the DMCA process, tells the person who posted it. They can answer with a counter-notice, a sworn statement that the removal was a mistake or a misidentification. Under the DMCA, once a valid counter-notice is received, the platform is meant to restore the material between 10 and 14 business days later, unless you tell it you have started a court action. So filing is not the end. Be ready for a reply.

When is a repost a good thing?

Sometimes it is free reach. A repost with credit, my account tagged and the picture intact is something I leave alone and often thank. I only file when there is no credit, when the account sells something with my picture, when the watermark has been cropped or when the use is clearly commercial. That line is my own judgment, not a rule, and your threshold might be different.

What should I keep in a case log?

• The date you found it and the platform.
• The exact URL of the repost, and a screenshot of it.
• The link to your original and the date you posted it.
• The date you filed, the form you used and any reference number.
• The outcome, and the date, including any counter-notice.

A spreadsheet is enough. The log is how you spot an account that keeps reposting, and it saves you rewriting the same notice from memory.