A photographer opens a shopping site on a Tuesday morning. Her photo of a mountain lake sits on a product page. She never sold it and never licensed it.
She wants the photo taken down, and she wants the platform to act the first time she asks.
What the notice must contain under the DSA
The Digital Services Act lists four things every takedown notice must contain.
In the EU, the Digital Services Act sets the rules for hosting platforms. Article 16(1) says every hosting provider must offer an easy online way to report content you think is illegal. Article 16(2) lists what your notice must contain. Here are the four elements, word for word, each with a plain reading.
- "(a) a sufficiently substantiated explanation of the reasons why the individual or entity alleges the information in question to be illegal content;" In plain words: say why the post breaks the law. For a copied photo, say it is your work and you gave no permission.
- "(b) a clear indication of the exact electronic location of that information, such as the exact URL or URLs, and, where necessary, additional information enabling the identification of the illegal content adapted to the type of content and to the specific type of hosting service;" In plain words: give the exact web address of each copy. If a page holds many images, say which one.
- "(c) the name and email address of the individual or entity submitting the notice, except in the case of information considered to involve one of the offences referred to in Articles 3 to 7 of Directive 2011/93/EU;" In plain words: give your name and an email the platform can reply to.
- "(d) a statement confirming the bona fide belief of the individual or entity submitting the notice that the information and allegations contained therein are accurate and complete." In plain words: confirm that you honestly believe what you wrote is accurate and complete.
Why a precise notice gets action
A precise notice gives the platform knowledge, and the platform must then decide in a careful and fair way.
Article 16(3) of the Digital Services Act explains why the detail matters. A notice counts as giving the platform knowledge where it allows "a diligent provider of hosting services to identify the illegality of the relevant activity or information without a detailed legal examination." A vague notice does not reach that bar. Article 16(6) then says the platform must process the notices it receives and decide "in a timely, diligent, non-arbitrary and objective manner." Those are the standards you can hold the platform to.
What you get back after a removal
When a platform removes content, it must tell the affected user why in a clear statement.
Article 17(1) of the Digital Services Act says hosting providers "shall provide a clear and specific statement of reasons to any affected recipients of the service". This covers "removal of content, disabling access to content, or demoting content". For you, it means the removal is a recorded decision with written reasons.
Switzerland: the stay-down duty
Swiss law can require a hosting provider to stop the same work coming back, under three conditions.
In Switzerland, the Copyright Act handles this in Article 39d. A hosting provider must "prevent a work or other protected subject matter from being unlawfully remade available to third parties through the use of its services". Three conditions must all be met. First, the work "has already been unlawfully made available to third parties via the same internet hosting service." Second, "The provider has been notified of the infringement." Third, the service "has created a particular risk of such infringements, specifically due to a technical mode of operation or an economic orientation which encourages infringement." Article 39d(2) adds that the provider must take "the technical and economic measures reasonably expected of them". Your notice is one of the three conditions. The other two depend on the service itself.
Our advice: what to attach so the reviewer sees it in one look
These attachments are our own advice to help a reviewer check your claim fast, and the law does not require them.
The Digital Services Act does not say what proof of ownership to attach. It asks for reasons, location, identity and a good-faith statement. What follows is our practical advice to make element (a), your reasons, easy to check.
- The certificate of proof for your original file. On Swiss Trust Layer every sealed folder version gets one. It is a signed PDF. It lists the file name and the file's fingerprint, and names who it was sealed for. If the sealing date is before the copy went up, the reviewer sees it at once.
- The public verification link. The certificate carries a QR code to a verification page that needs no login. The reviewer can open it and check without asking you for more.
- Earlier versions, if the design evolved. Every folder has a Version History, and each version keeps its own seal. Attach the version that matches the copy and the first version of your idea.
- A short side-by-side. Put your file and the copy next to each other on one page. Mark the matching parts.
Anyone can also check the signed PDF on the public validator, with no account. It reports who signed, when, and whether the content changed since signing.
The copyright was yours before any seal
In Switzerland and under the Berne Convention, copyright exists from creation without any registration.
The Swiss Copyright Act says in Article 29(1): "A work is protected by copyright as soon as it is created, irrespective of whether it has been fixed on a physical medium." Article 9(1) gives the author "the exclusive right to his own work and the right to recognition of his authorship." The Berne Convention, with 182 contracting parties, says in Article 5(2): "The enjoyment and the exercise of these rights shall not be subject to any formality". A seal does not give you copyright. It gives you a dated record to show when someone questions your claim.
What a seal proves, and what the platform decides
A seal proves the file and the date, and the platform still makes the decision.
A seal proves this exact file existed at that moment and has not changed since. It does not prove who created the content, that the content is true, or that the sealer holds the rights. It does not create copyright. The platform reads your notice and decides. A clear notice with a dated certificate makes that decision easier and quicker. It does not force the result.
Seal your published originals in a folder on Swiss Trust Layer today, so the certificate of proof is ready before the next copy appears.
