Finding your work on an unfamiliar account can be frustrating. Before reporting it, create a record that someone else can understand. The goal is to preserve what you observed, identify the work, and make any uncertainty visible. Documentation supports a review; it is not a legal finding that infringement occurred.
Start with the original work
Create one entry for each work. Include its title or a short identifying description, the original publication URL, and the publication date if known. Keep source files or other creation records in their original form. If the work has multiple versions, identify which version appears in the reported material.
Record the rights holder’s name separately from the person preparing the report. A publisher, employee, or agency may need documents explaining its authority. Identify relevant assignments or licenses without sending an entire confidential agreement when a narrower record is sufficient. If ownership is uncertain, resolve that question before making a claim.
Capture the location and the context
Save the direct URL to the reported item, not only the account homepage. Record the platform, account name, visible identifier, and the date and time of your observation, including the time zone. If the item appears in several places, make separate entries rather than merging the links into one paragraph.
Take an unaltered screenshot showing the content and enough surrounding context to identify the page. For a video, note the relevant timestamps. For a long article, identify the copied passages by location. Preserve the full capture before creating a marked-up comparison, and label any annotations clearly.
Do not bypass account protections or access restrictions to obtain evidence. If material is no longer accessible, record that limitation and preserve the earlier observation without claiming to know why it disappeared.
Compare without overstating
Place a reference to the original next to the reported item and describe the observable overlap. For example, identify the same photograph, paragraph, sequence, or file. Separate facts from conclusions: “the image appears at this URL” is an observation; “the account has no permission” requires checking the relevant permissions.
Check your own licensing records and ask the appropriate rights holder about authorized uses. U.S. copyright law includes exceptions such as fair use; context matters. See the U.S. Copyright Office Fair Use Index for official background. Ask qualified counsel to assess uncertain or disputed uses.
Organize a handoff file
A simple table can make the record easier to review:
| Field | What to record |
|---|---|
| Work reference | An internal identifier and original-source link |
| Reported location | The exact item URL and platform |
| Observation | Date, time zone, and a factual description |
| Capture | Filename for the preserved screenshot or other record |
| Rights context | Owner, authorization, and known permissions |
| Follow-up | Report reference, response date, and next question |
Keep a consistent naming convention, such as a date followed by the work identifier and item number. Store originals separately from working copies. Restrict access to people who need the file, and remove unrelated personal information from the version intended for sharing.
Keep an update trail
Record later observations as new entries. Save acknowledgment messages and report reference numbers. Distinguish a report being received from a platform deciding to act. If a page is unavailable, note exactly what you saw rather than treating that as confirmation of a successful takedown.
For assistance organizing the record, review our copyright enforcement service. If the available route is a DMCA notice, first read what information a notice normally includes. A clear evidence file makes the next discussion more focused, but it does not guarantee an enforcement outcome.
Services are informational and administrative enforcement support, not legal advice. Nguyen Linh Protector LLC is not a law firm. Platform decisions remain under the control of the relevant platform; no outcome is guaranteed. An inquiry does not create an attorney-client relationship. Consult qualified legal counsel for jurisdiction-specific advice.