TechBytes with Marcus Schmitt, Founder and CEO, Copytrack

What technology does Copytrack use to track photos?

We use our powerful cloud-based image crawler with linear scalability. It is a self-learning mechanism and has a container-based and orchestrated infrastructure. On top of that sits our real-time image matching engine, which is also cloud-based and linear scalable. These entitices together ensure uninterrupted and scalable performance.

One major benefit of our technology is that it allows Copytrack to detect alternations such as scaling, color changing, filtering, cropping or resizing. This results in a very low number of false positives.

Once an image has been found, we then present all duplicates to our users together with information about the website, storage location, website owner and publication date. Additionally, we have been increasing smart pre-filtering in order to only provide matches that have a high likelihood of being successfully pursued. This increases the efficiency of our service for our clients.

How are photographers paid when a settlement is reached with the infringer?

The most common method for photographers to get paid after a settlement is by sending money directly to their account via wire transfer.

How much does it cost?

Since our service is entirely commission-based, creating an account with Copytrack is free. We only take a commission in the event that we successfully recover money from an infringing party on your behalf. Our commission rates are either 30% if we settle a case directly or 50% if additional legal action is taken. Our 100% risk-free offer is a major benefit for users.

Which countries does it cover?

The internet knows no borders; we find image duplicates all over the world and have had success acting on them with post-licensing offers. Legal enforcement, however, is not possible in all countries because of differences in national legislation — although this applies primarily to less industrialized countries. So far, we have had successful cases in 86 countries.

How do I know if someone has infringed on my image copyright?

Copytrack sends you notifications anytime a duplicate is found with information about where your images are being used online and by whom. If the image user has not purchased a license from you or an agency that acts on your behalf, it is a copyright infringement.

If Copytrack finds someone that has copied my image, do I have to sue them personally?

No, we handle the whole process for you. There is no legal or financial risk to you, and we save you a lot of time and stress.

How does image theft harm the copyright owners?

Image theft is not a trivial offence. Sometimes image theft is even looked upon as less serious than other types of theft because it does not involve a physical object being stolen. Professional photographers, however, actually suffer financial loss from image theft because they depend on the income generated by their photos. Even hobby photographers are entitled to be named as the author of their work and compensated if their work is stolen.

Thank you for answering all our questions!