Practice area 01
Copyright Protection and Content Removal
Establishing what you own, acting against unauthorised use, and responding when a claim against your work is wrong.
Most copyright problems are not arguments about the law. They are arguments about evidence: who created the work, who owns it now, and what can actually be shown. We begin there.
We assess ownership and the documents behind it, prepare and send complaints about unauthorised use, and correspond with platforms and counterparties. We also act on the other side of the same process, for clients whose own releases have been blocked or claimed by someone with no right to do so.
Clients usually come to us when
- A recording or composition of yours has been uploaded, monetised or distributed by someone else.
- Your release has been blocked, muted or taken down following a claim you believe is incorrect.
- Another party has registered your work in their own name with a platform or distributor.
- A counter-notice has been filed against your complaint and the dispute has escalated.
- You need the ownership position documented properly before taking any action at all.
What we can help with
- Assessment of ownership and the supporting documents behind it
- Complaints concerning unauthorised use of recordings, compositions and other protected work
- Requests to remove or disable infringing content
- Responses to disputed, duplicated or incorrect claims made against your work
- Organisation of evidence into a form that can be relied on
- Correspondence with platforms, distributors and counterparties
How we approach it
We confirm the ownership position first, then decide what action the evidence actually supports. Where a complaint is appropriate, we prepare it with the supporting material attached and handle the correspondence that follows, including escalation if the first response is inadequate.
What we cannot promise. Submitting a complaint does not establish that infringement occurred, and we cannot guarantee that content will be removed or restored. Those decisions rest with the platform, the distributor or a competent court.
Common questions
Can you guarantee the content will be taken down?
No. We can assess the strength of the position, prepare a properly evidenced complaint and press it. Whether content is removed is decided by the platform or, ultimately, by a court.
Someone has claimed my own track. Can you help?
Yes. Responding to incorrect or duplicated claims is a substantial part of this work. The first step is documenting your ownership so that the response carries evidence rather than assertion.
Do I need to have registered the copyright first?
Not necessarily. What matters is what you can demonstrate about authorship and the chain of ownership. Registration, where it exists, is useful evidence but is rarely the only evidence available.
Related practice areas
Royalties and Withheld Funds
Reading what the statements actually say, testing it against the contract, and pursuing payments that are being withheld.
Music, Licensing and Commercial Agreements
Drafting and negotiating the agreements that decide who owns the work, who may use it, where, for how long, and on what terms.
Intellectual Property Disputes
Assessing the position honestly before escalating, negotiating where settlement serves you better, and litigating where it does not.