Legal Handoff

Section 01

When a matter reaches transmission

Most matters never reach this stage. A licence is produced, a settlement is agreed, or the review shows that the use was covered and the file is closed without any claim. Transmission to counsel is reserved for the files where the correspondence has run its course and a silence, or a genuine dispute, remains.

In practice, a matter is prepared for transmission in one of the following situations:

• The graduated correspondence with the website operator has been exhausted: the dated letters have been sent, up to and including the final pre-contentious warning, and none has produced a licence, a settlement or a substantive reply.
• The last-resort letter (litigation referral), which informs the operator that the file is about to be transmitted to counsel, has also gone unanswered by its stated date.
• The operator has replied, but the reply raises a dispute that correspondence cannot resolve: a contested licence chain, a fair use or exception argument that calls for a legal assessment, a disagreement over who published the image, or a question of jurisdiction.

A reply, a licence claim or a request for time places the matter on hold until a stated date, and nothing is transmitted during a hold. Transmission is a decision taken on a documented file, never an automatic consequence of a missed deadline. The rights holder is informed before the file leaves Atlantic.

Section 02

What the transmitted file contains

Counsel receives one structured file, not a set of links and forwarded e-mails. Every element is drawn from the Case File (reference AID-YYYY-NNNNN) and from the chain-of-custody record kept since the first capture.

• A case summary: the work, the rights holder, the use found, the parties identified, the stage reached and the questions that remain open.
• An evidence index listing each occurrence with its full page URL, image URL, date and time of capture, full-page screenshot and image file, together with the SHA-256 fingerprint of every evidence file.
• A chronology of every action: captures, review steps, letters, deadlines, holds, host complaints, replies and activity in the case portal.
• Every letter sent and every reply received, including replies by e-mail and documents uploaded by the recipient through the portal.
• The authority certificate, with its public verification address, and the mandate under which Atlantic acted.
• The ownership documents supplied by the rights holder: original files, publication records, contributor or agency records, and registration certificates where they exist.
• A record of the licence checks performed before any letter was sent: image-bank credits, contributor records, editorial context, any licence record requested from the operator and the answer given.
• Where applicable, the complaints sent to hosting providers, search engines or advertising networks, and the responses received.

Before the file leaves Atlantic, it is checked for consistency. Each fingerprint is verified against its evidence file, each letter appears in the chronology at its sending date, and each reply is matched to the letter it answers. Gaps are stated openly rather than left for counsel to discover: a missing registration, an uncertain publication date, an operator whose identity could not be confirmed, or an occurrence captured only once. A file that names its own weaknesses saves counsel time and avoids advice built on assumptions.

Section 03

What each element proves, and what it does not

A file is useful to counsel only if it is honest about its limits. Atlantic presents each element for exactly what it is.

The SHA-256 fingerprints show that an evidence file has not changed since it was captured. They do not, on their own, show who placed the image on the page or why. The screenshots and URLs show that a given image was displayed at a given address at a given time; they do not establish how long the use lasted before or after the capture, and the chronology says so when that period is uncertain.

The authority certificate shows that Atlantic verified the rights holder’s identity and mandate. It is not a judicial finding of ownership, and ownership remains for counsel to assess on the underlying documents. Any licence fee or settlement figure mentioned in the correspondence is recorded as a proposal, not as an established debt.

The licence checks matter as much as the evidence of use. They show counsel that obvious explanations were looked for before any claim was made, and they record precisely what the operator was asked to produce. If the operator later asserts a licence, counsel can see whether one was requested, when, and what came back.

Section 04

Why a complete record matters to counsel

Counsel’s first questions are rarely about the image itself. They concern registration, the available remedies, the appropriate forum and the strength of the proof. A complete record allows those questions to be answered quickly and accurately.

Under US law, 17 U.S.C. § 411(a) requires registration before an infringement action is brought for a United States work; foreign works are exempt from that requirement. Section 412 generally makes statutory damages and attorney’s fees available only where registration was timely. The file therefore states the country of first publication, the publication date as far as it is documented, and any registration with its effective date, so counsel can see at once which remedies may be in play.

References17 U.S.C. § 411(a)

Section 504 provides for actual damages and profits or, where available, statutory damages, which willfulness can increase. Willfulness is a question of fact, and the chronology bears directly on it: when the operator was notified, what it was told, and whether the use continued afterwards. In the European Union, article 13 of Directive 2004/48/EC requires damages to take into account factors such as the economic consequences for the rights holder and any unfair profits made by the infringer, and other jurisdictions apply comparable criteria. A documented record of the use and its duration supports that assessment.

ReferencesDir. 2004/48/EC

Counsel may also consider the Copyright Claims Board, the voluntary small-claims forum established by the CASE Act (17 U.S.C. Chapter 15), in which the respondent may opt out. In the European Union, Directive 2004/48/EC also provides for measures to preserve evidence. Whether any of these routes is appropriate is for counsel to decide. Atlantic’s role is to make sure the facts needed for that decision are already in the file.

ReferencesCopyright Claims Board · Dir. 2004/48/EC

Registration is not a condition of protection. Under article 5(2) of the Berne Convention, the enjoyment and exercise of rights are not subject to any formality, so an operator’s objection that “there is no registration” does not mean there is no right. In the United States, registration affects procedure and the remedies available, which is why the file records it precisely.

ReferencesBerne Convention

Section 05

Jurisdiction and the choice of counsel

Copyright is territorial, and the appropriate forum depends on where the operator is established, where the use was directed and what the rights holder wants to achieve. Atlantic does not choose the jurisdiction for the rights holder. The file sets out the facts relevant to that choice: the operator’s identity and location as far as they are known, the hosting provider, the language and audience of the site, and the place of first publication of the work.

The same applies to the question of responsibility. When an operator says that its web designer or agency chose the image, the file records that statement and the operator’s role as the party that published the page. How responsibility is allocated between the operator and its contractor depends on the jurisdiction, and counsel assesses it on the facts.

Where a referral is decided, the file is handed to qualified counsel in the relevant jurisdiction. A rights holder who already works with a lawyer can say so, and this is taken into account when the file is prepared for transmission. Counsel’s independence is unaffected: counsel reviews the file, advises the rights holder directly and decides how to proceed, including whether further documents or a different approach are needed.

Section 06

What Atlantic does, and what it does not do

Atlantic Image Defense is not a law firm and does not give legal advice. It does not represent anyone in court, does not draft pleadings and does not tell the rights holder whether to bring proceedings. Its work at this stage is organisational: assembling a complete, verifiable factual record and delivering it to the professional who will assess it.

That boundary also answers a frequent objection. An operator who replies “you are not a law firm” is right, and nothing in Atlantic’s correspondence suggests otherwise. Atlantic writes as the documented agent of the rights holder in a pre-contentious matter. When a matter requires legal action, lawyers handle it, on the basis of the file Atlantic has prepared.

The same reasoning applies to a demand for a court order before any discussion. A court order is the outcome of proceedings, not a precondition for an amicable exchange. At the pre-contentious stage, the operator already has the evidence summary in the case portal, an authority certificate it can verify and the opportunity to show a licence. If the matter goes further, formal documents are exchanged between lawyers.

Section 07

When the other side instructs a lawyer

An operator may instruct counsel at any stage. Communication then moves to the platform’s dedicated channel for counsel, the request centre, where documents are exchanged between professionals. The other side’s lawyer can use it to request elements of the file, submit a licence or other proof, set out the client’s position or propose terms.

Everything exchanged through the request centre is filed in the Case File and forms part of the record transmitted to the rights holder’s counsel. The professional exchange stays in one place, parallel e-mail threads are avoided, and a position taken by the other side is not lost between stages. Settlement discussions remain confidential; Atlantic publishes nothing about recipients and does not contact their clients.

Section 08

Settlement remains possible until the end

Transmission to counsel does not close the door to an amicable outcome. The case portal remains open to the operator, who can still produce a licence, upload proof or settle. A valid licence shown at this stage closes the Case File without any claim, and an amicable settlement, once agreed, is recorded and closes the matter.

When a matter is resolved, Atlantic withdraws the notices it sent to hosting providers, search engines or advertising networks. Removing the image does not, by itself, resolve the matter: it ends the ongoing use but does not erase the use already made. This is why the file documents the whole period of use, not only its end.

Section 09

How to start

To open a matter, submit the image reference, the URL where the image was found and any source or licence information you hold through the platform. Atlantic verifies your authority to act, reviews the use and builds the Case File from the first capture, so that if the matter ever needs legal review, the record counsel needs is already in place.