A single unlicensed image on your website could cost you thousands.
Do you know how many you have?
Jump to How ImageVerifier Works
What’s the best tool for estimating the copyright infringement risk of website images?
ImageVerifier analyzes your images and outputs a detailed user-friendly report. It estimates the risk level of each image, flags licensing issues and helps you maintain a record of your licenses, thereby giving you the opportunity to identify and address potential issues earlier, which may help reduce the risk of costly disputes.
Have you received an unpleasant surprise like this one?
A growing number of individuals and firms are using sophisticated technology to actively crawl the internet in search of unlicensed images for the sole purpose of imposing hefty fines or initiating high-dollar lawsuits. Dealing with these situations can be expensive, disruptive and stressful.
Who’s at Risk
- Any website owner whose site that contains unverified images
- Businesses or individuals who have inherited websites from previous developers with unclear image provenance
- Small businesses and bloggers, despite their good-faith efforts
- Individuals or businesses who believe they have valid image licenses, yet struggle to prove ownership
Source: Gemini.Google.com
How Much Could This Cost You?
You may have heard that a copyright infringement case that goes to trial could incur a penalty of up to $150,000 per image — plus legal costs. But that’s not the only cost that you could incur. These claims can get expensive, even if you settle out of court. What if you have dozens or hundreds of improperly licensed images?
What’s on Your Website?
Now, ask yourself how many images you have on your website.
And consider who selects the images.
Do you know the source of every single image displayed on your site?
Are those images a potentially expensive threat to you?
How do you even figure it out?
Answer: ImageVerifier, your premier image copyright checker.
ImageVerifier: How it Works
Scans your websites
ImageVerifier scans your public website pages to discover and index any accessible images. ImageVerifier uses reverse image search technology that checks images against billions of online sources.
Delivers a comprehensive image compliance database
Generates your image compliance database, which includes detailed risk and image-match accuracy ratings for all your images. This page is more than a report. It tracks all analyzed images over time, additionally functioning as an ongoing compliance tool.
Resolve issues with stock providers
ImageVerifier flags at-risk images and, when a stock provider match is found, gives you a direct link to that image’s page on the provider’s site so that you can independently obtain a license.
Maintain a complete licensing record
Using the spreadsheet import feature, you can bring in your existing license data from any stock image provider and import it into ImageVerifier. This helps identify potential matches for images found on your site, automatically updating their risk level when license data is imported.
Handling copyright infringement claims can be expensive, stressful and time-consuming. If legal action is threatened for unlicensed use of an image, the consequences can escalate quickly. ImageVerifier helps you ensure that you won’t have to face unexpected and excessive penalties. And perhaps, like us, you value peace of mind.
The ImageVerifier Benefits
Turning copyright concerns into confidence.
Financial and Reputational Protection
Helps you avoid hefty fines and legal complications related to image use.
Confidence
Makes it easy for you to ensure your images are properly licensed and safe to use.
Operational Efficiency
Saves time and resources with efficient scans and reports, streamlining compliance efforts.
The ImageVerifier Mission
To empower you with the knowledge that helps you protect your organization from costly image-licensing errors and copyright infringement claims
Important Questions and Answers
Why do I need to check images on my website for copyright risk?
Answer: Most online images are protected by copyright from the moment they are created. Using them without a valid license or permission can lead to legal claims, takedown notices or expensive lawsuits. Verifying the rights to your images helps you avoid these risks and protect your business legally and financially.
How does ImageVerifier help reduce copyright infringement risk?
Answer: ImageVerifier is a copyright compliance tool that finds and flags high-risk or unverified images on your site, shows you where licensing matches exist with stock providers and helps you maintain a record of licensed content. This helps site owners identify unlicensed or risky images before legal issues arise, making proactive compliance and risk mitigation much easier.
Can ImageVerifier help me find licensing for images I’m unsure about?
Answer: Yes — when ImageVerifier identifies a potential stock image match, it can link you directly to that image’s page on the provider’s site so you can independently obtain or review the appropriate license.
How can I tell if an image on my site is safe to use without permission?
Answer: Until you have the specific data from the correct source for a given image, you should start with the assumption that it’s very probably copyrighted and that you must have a valid license to use it. Yes, there are images in the public domain, but never assume any image is safe to use (not even if you have seen it a lot). Get the data from the right source!
ImageVerifier can help you trace the image source and licensing terms before publishing or continuing to use the image. ImageVerifier is an amazing aid that can majorly speed up your data gathering, research and documenting.
What happens if I ignore image copyright compliance?
Answer: Ignoring image copyright risk can lead to costly copyright infringement claims, demand letters, takedown notices, expensive lawsuits and reputational harm. Checking and documenting usage rights helps you avoid these consequences and maintain a legally compliant website.
What are the most common misconceptions about using online images on one’s own website?
Answer: Many website owners mistakenly believe that images found online are free to use. In reality, most images are automatically protected by copyright, even if they appear on Google, social media or “royalty-free” sites. Another all-too-common false myth is that things like crediting the creator or using an image for non-commercial purposes makes it safe. Also not true is the idea that an image without a watermark is safe.
Even Creative Commons images are not automatically safe. Most of these include restrictions, limitations and use requirements.
Verifying image rights and making any needed corrections is the only reliable way to significantly reduce copyright risk.
I already have a threatening letter about an image on my site. What should I do?
Answer: If you receive a threatening letter about an image, do not ignore it. Start by reviewing the claim carefully, documenting the image’s source and usage, and removing the image if necessary. You should consult a qualified legal professional to understand your options. ImageVerifier can help you identify and manage image copyright risk going forward, but it is not a substitute for legal advice.
Why have copyright demand letters increased so dramatically?
Answer: Take a look at the accompanying table and you’ll see that in the US alone, the annual number of demands has more than tripled in just five years.
Today, automated copyright enforcement may well be the most pervasive threat, since AI enables the rapid scanning of literally millions of images, followed by the automated issuance of vast numbers of threat letters/emails.
| Year | Estimated Demand Letters Sent (United States) | Primary Cause of Increase |
| 2020 | 85,000 | Manual “crawling” by boutique law firms. |
| 2021 | 98,000 | Expansion of automated “Copyright-as-a-Service” platforms. |
| 2022 | 115,000 | Launch of the CCB (Small Claims) increased “pre-filing” threats. |
| 2023 | 155,000 | Adoption of AI-driven visual matching (identifying “mashups”). |
| 2024 | 210,000 | High-volume targeting of AI training datasets. |
| 2025 | 265,000 | Mass automated settlement portals become the industry norm. |
Disclaimer: The information on this website is provided for general information purposes only and does not constitute legal advice. Nothing on this site creates an attorney–client relationship. Copyright laws vary by situation, and you should consult a licensed copyright attorney for advice regarding your specific circumstances.
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