Almost a month ago, I received a notification from Shutterstock that one of my images was flagged for a copyright violation and my account was being suspended. They offered a few methods to supply proof that I'm the copyright holder of the particular image. Very quickly I sent the evidence to them and received a response that my case would be escalated. Since that time I have received no further communication, and all of my images have been removed from the site, and I can't log in to my account. They have ignored the many e-mails I've sent. It should take no more than 10 minutes to look at the evidence I submitted and conclude my account should be reactivated.

Has anyone been through this process before and what was the outcome? There was also no indication from Shutterstock why they thought there was a copyright issue in the first place.

Yes, I have the raw data.

I submitted a screenshot showing a series of raw files of similar angles of the same subject. My point is that there has been zero communication. Even if the proof I submitted was not satisfactory in some way, it would take  less than a minute or two to make that determination and respond. However, I believe I have demonstrated clearly that I'm the rightful copyright owner.

Almost a month ago, I received a notification from Shutterstock that one of my images was flagged for a copyright violation and my account was being suspended. They offered a few methods to supply proof that I'm the copyright holder of the particular image. Very quickly I sent the evidence to them and received a response that my case would be escalated. Since that time I have received no further communication, and all of my images have been removed from the site, and I can't log in to my account. They have ignored the many e-mails I've sent. It should take no more than 10 minutes to look at the evidence I submitted and conclude my account should be reactivated.

Has anyone been through this process before and what was the outcome? There was also no indication from Shutterstock why they thought there was a copyright issue in the first place.

I was hit by the same Shutterstock violation as you today, even though the work is my own. I have submitted the evidence as raw files today. I want to know if your portfolio has been reopened yet. I am very concerned about the timeframe. I have been a member since 2012 and have approximately 30,000 images. It's really sad

messed up irony is - what if it is a "stolen" portfolio doing a "copyright claim" against your stuff?

i think so.

Quote from: zebra007 on June 13, 2024, 10:45

I was hit by the same Shutterstock violation as you today, even though the work is my own. I have submitted the evidence as raw files today. I want to know if your portfolio has been reopened yet. I am very concerned about the timeframe. I have been a member since 2012 and have approximately 30,000 images. It's really sad

I have heard same from few others too, they are banning people with violations which they never did. The worst part is they stop responding even you send the evidences.

Why, in this case, I took the photograph myself and never submitted the work to the website that Shutterstock sent me a link to. I have the original work and raw files that I have kept and sent to Shutterstock. I did nothing wrong. Why does my account get suspended when I am the owner of the work? I am very upset to encounter this.

Quote from: zebra007 on June 14, 2024, 11:38

Why, in this case, I took the photograph myself and never submitted the work to the website that Shutterstock sent me a link to. I have the original work and raw files that I have kept and sent to Shutterstock. I did nothing wrong. Why does my account get suspended when I am the owner of the work? I am very upset to encounter this.

SS sent you a link to a different website, which has your image, in use in some way, and that's why they suspended your account? Is that another stock site? Seems odd that SS would care, so I'll guess, someone filed a DMCA against you, for your own image?

I know none of us can answer, but why would anyone do that? Seems unusual and there's no gain, unless they were just out to cause trouble for you.

If you have the RAW files and know the site, file a DMCA against that person!

Thank you for the advice. I believe this might be a case of someone trying to sabotage me, as you mentioned, because my images have become very popular. This situation highlights a potential loophole in the DMCA policy that affects genuine content creators.