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PUBLIC CERTIFICATE VERIFICATION

Verify an authority certificate

Enter the AUTH-CERT reference exactly as it appears on the Authority Confirmation Certificate issued by ATLANTIC IMAGE DEFENSE.

Legal context

When Atlantic refers to public bodies. Registration is required only for certain proceedings: before U.S. federal courts for U.S. works (17 U.S.C. § 411(a)) and before the Copyright Claims Board of the U.S. Copyright Office (17 U.S.C. § 1505). Atlantic refers to these bodies as forums before which a case may be brought if it is not resolved amicably. They do not issue or endorse this certificate.

What this certificate is

One certificate per case.
An authority certificate is issued for a single case, identified in its reference, and frozen when the case is opened. No certificate covers several cases or a rights holder’s whole catalogue.
Based on a prior authority record.
Before a certificate is issued, the authority on which the case relies is reviewed and recorded. Depending on the case, that is the rights holder’s mandate, a signed authority declaration or Atlantic’s verified representative record. The certificate states which basis applies. Its integrity is checked on this page against the fingerprint recorded when it was issued.
A public extract.
This page does not show the mandate or declaration itself; the signature details (signer, date, method, reference); the document’s fingerprint; the rights holder’s personal address, telephone number and e-mail address; the identity of the reviewer; review and internal notes; internal record identifiers; data concerning the recipient of the case; correspondence; settlement amounts; access codes; confidential evidence and supporting files.
The complete record is available to counsel.
A lawyer acting in the matter may request it through the lawyers’ area, with bar details and the client’s mandate. It is not sent to each party individually. Lawyers’ area →
Why the mandate itself is not sent.
Under U.S. law, a notice of claimed infringement must state that the sender is authorised to act on behalf of the owner (17 U.S.C. § 512(c)(3)(A)(vi)); it does not have to include the mandate itself. A signed written instrument is required only for a transfer of copyright ownership (17 U.S.C. § 204(a)), which representation is not. Where proof of authority is required, the complete record is made available to counsel through the lawyers’ area.
Copyright needs no document to exist.
Copyright arises when the work is created; its existence does not depend on registration or any other formality (Berne Convention, Article 5(2); 17 U.S.C. § 302(a)). Authority to act comes from the rights holder or a party it has authorised, such as an exclusive licensee or an agency. No public authority grants or validates that authority.
Atlantic Image Defense LLC

Atlantic supports photographers and rights holders with image monitoring, evidence organization, licensing review and responsible case preparation.

Company

Legal and trust

Contact

ATLANTIC IMAGE DEFENSE LLC
54 State Street, Ste 804
PMB 17418
Albany, NY 12207
United States

+1 (347) 853-8625 contact@atlantic-image-defense.com privacy@atlantic-image-defense.com copyright@atlantic-image-defense.com
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© 2026 ATLANTIC IMAGE DEFENSE LLC. All rights reserved. Active company registered in New York under DOS ID 7924876, Filing Number 260526002009.

Made in United States of America CCB.gov - Copyright Claims Board

COPYRIGHT CLAIMS BOARD
P.O. Box 70400
Washington, D.C. 20024-0400
(202) 707-3000 or
1 (877) 476-0778 (toll-free)

Are you a photographer, an authors’ representative or an image distribution platform? Copyright in a photograph arises when it is created and belongs to its author from the outset, with no formalities. Registration is not a condition of protection: in the United States (17 U.S.C. §§ 102(a), 201(a) and 408(a)); in the more than 180 states party to the Berne Convention, across the Americas, Europe, Africa, Asia and Oceania (Art. 5(2)); in the member countries of the World Trade Organization, which must apply these rules under the TRIPS Agreement (Art. 9(1)), or in those that have joined the WIPO Copyright Treaty (Art. 3).

Registration with the U.S. Copyright Office becomes useful, or even necessary, in specific cases: for a U.S. work, it is required before any action in federal court (§ 411(a)); a registration application is required to bring a claim before the Copyright Claims Board (§ 1505); made before the infringement or within three months of publication, it makes statutory damages and attorney’s fees available (§ 412); made within five years of publication, it creates a presumption that the copyright is valid (§ 410(c)).

ATLANTIC IMAGE DEFENSE can be mandated for either service, each handled separately: defending your photographs, which always begins with an amicable approach to the user; registering your works, carried out directly with the U.S. Copyright Office under a mandate signed beforehand, within that office’s own timeframes. ATLANTIC IMAGE DEFENSE is not affiliated with the Copyright Office or the CCB. Register a work with the U.S. Copyright Office

In the United States, copyright in a photograph generally lasts for the author’s life plus 70 years (17 U.S.C. § 302(a)); the Berne Convention sets a minimum of life plus 50 years (Art. 7(1)), which the WIPO Copyright Treaty extends to photographs (Art. 9).