When a Giant Opts Out: Amazon’s INFRINGEMENT & Evasion of Copyright Accountability

When a Giant Opts Out: Amazon’s Infringement and Evasion of Copyright Accountability

In August 2025, I noticed an image of a minor child that I photographed was being used on Amazon to sell products illegally.

What unfolded should concern every creator, not only because Amazon ignored those notices, but because of how it exploited a legal loophole meant to protect small creators like me to profit from the use of my image of a minor child.

A Photograph, a Child, and a Corporate Shrug

When a creator finds their intellectual property being infringed on, the law allows for many things including a lawsuit. The first thing most creators do is file a take down under the Digital Millennial Copyright Act (DMCA).

The DMCA outlines how takedowns should be sent, the information included and what the recipient is required to do when receiving them.

Upon discovering my photograph, which features a minor child, was being used without authorization by a seller on Amazon’s marketplace, between August and October 2025, I submitted several DMCA takedown notices. Each notice was fully compliant with 17 U.S.C. §512(c)(3)(A), including every statutory element required by law: identification of the copyrighted work, evidence of ownership, and the exact infringing URLs.

Amazon rejected all notices, using the same generic excuse each time: “The description did not match--and in some cases, didn't respond AT ALL.

This is a copy of what was sent to them:

They then responded stating they wouldn't accept any emails from me and refused to process it. This is a violation of the DMCA. They are required to process and seek clarification and they refused.

I filed several other reports over and over and got the same response.

I escalated the matter through Amazon’s Executive Relations department. I copied their legal team. I even included Andy Jassy, Amazon’s CEO, on the communications. Nothing changed. The image remained online, being monetized without my consent. The silence was deliberate.

This was not a misunderstanding. It was neglect.

It was intentional.

After wasting hours of my time copying executives and making legal threats, they removed the image. They informed me I could email their customer service team and their IP team directly with future issues.

Big sigh, I thought--this is over. Whew.

Then I found the same image, being used by the SAME SELLER on Sept 11.

I sent a notice to the executive team email and to the IP email.

Want to know what they said?

Well, the executive team acted like we'd never chatted and told me to go fill out a new IP report. The IP team responded and told me how to appeal the removal of a listing as a seller.

CLEARLY not reading or reviewing valid legal DMCA notices.

So I resubmitted IP report after IP report.

Email after email.

I escalated the matter through Amazon’s Executive Relations department. I copied their legal team. I even included Andy Jassy, Amazon’s CEO, on the communications. Nothing changed. The image remained online, being monetized without my consent. The silence was deliberate

I had to argue, be blocked, find additional emails, copy people, make legal threats and make noise to get anyone to do anything.

I finally received notice they removed it. Absence my arguments, it would have remained.

I knew I would not go through this again, I knew that Amazon was violating the DMCA and my copyrights.

This wasn't the first time I had issues with getting my work removed off Amazon, and I certainly wasn't going to stay on this maddening merry-go-round.

So I sent a demand for settlement and compensation for the use of my registered work of a minor child, TWICE.

You know what they did. Come on, guess.

IGNORED ME.

I gave them 10 days to respond and NOT A PEEP.

On the 10th day, I replied to each of them. Letting them know their silence was loud and I would be moving forward.

Do you think they tried to make it right?

I filed the CCB case against Amazon on October 3, 2025 (right as the government shut down)

One week later, I found the SAME SELLER used my image of a minor child a THIRD time.. and they did the same thing to me.

Rejected my reports.

Blocked my emails.

Ignored me.

I even shared the case number of the CCB lawsuit.

Do you think that mattered? Do you think I mattered? Do you think the minor child's likeness being used for commercial gain mattered?

Do you think Amazon cares? Truly, do you?

This was not a misunderstanding. It was neglect. It was willful.

The CCB was closed for the government shut down in October, so my initial complaint was put on hold until they reopened and I filed an amended complaint to include the third infringement through the Copyright Claims Board (CCB) in December 2025.

The DMCA and What Amazon Forgot

Under the Digital Millennium Copyright Act (DMCA), service providers like Amazon are granted what is called a “safe harbor” from liability for user-uploaded infringements. This legal protection exists to encourage innovation while ensuring that platforms act responsibly when notified of infringement.

That immunity is conditional. A company only qualifies for safe-harbor protection if it meets certain obligations, including:

1. Acting “expeditiously” to remove or disable access to infringing content once a valid notice is received.

2. Maintaining a functioning mechanism for copyright holders to submit notices.

3. Adopting and enforcing a repeat infringer policy.

4. Not interfering with standard technical measures used to protect copyrighted works.

   
   

Amazon failed all four. It did not remove the content after receiving valid notices. It rejected compliant submissions. It ignored direct communications with its legal and executive teams. And it only removed the infringing material after the U.S. Copyright Claims Board accepted my case.

By refusing to act on valid notices, Amazon forfeited its safe-harbor protection. The law does not give corporations a free pass to ignore creators; it gives them a framework for accountability, one they are required to follow. Amazon chose not to.

Over and over.

The Copyright Claims Board: A Door That Closes on Creators

The Copyright Claims Board (CCB) was established by Congress to help small creators protect their work without the crushing cost of federal litigation. It was designed to make justice accessible.

So I used it. I paid the filing fee $40, hired a process server to the tune of $120, and submitted all evidence and filed my lawsuit.

On December 18, 2025, the CCB accepted my claim. Right when the claim was approved.. and before even being formally served, Amazon quietly removed the infringing image from its website.

That timing is telling.

It confirms awareness of the infringement because they didn't get another report from me...they didn't get another email from me. It confirms their knowledge of the pending case (and choice to not communicate with me) and it suggests a deliberate effort to erase evidence.

I surmise they watch the CCB cases filed against them and then rush to cover their tracks. I saw another case filed around the same time as mine, and surely you won't be shocked to hear that it is no longer on the docket.

Four months after my initial notice of infringement and a lawsuit later, none of my images were being illegally used. It only took dozens of emails, threats, a demand, a CCB filing, legal fees, service costs, tears and mental breakdowns and they FINALLY removed the image.

My image.

But that didn't resolve things. How could it? If that is what it takes to protect my work, how can I possibly agree to continue through this intentionally broken process.

I've wasted hours and money on the constant communications, lawsuit and donated future years of my life in stress on just THIS case alone.

And there are many more like Amazon who think accountability is an option. Speaking of options...that's where the CCB fails creators.

Amazon was served on January 7, 2026 and on January 14, 2026, Amazon filed a notice opting out of the CCB proceeding altogether. No explanation. No apology. No communication.

Do you think they reached out to talk about the matter and resolve things?

No.

DEAD SILENCE AGAIN

They allowed an image of a minor child to be exploited for commercial purposes, multiple times by the same seller, ignored all attempts to resolve the matter and then said "Hey, we aren't going to deal with this.."

I will be honest-- I cried. I bawled my eyes out. My chest tightened and I couldn't breathe, I had a full on panic attack because them choosing to keep harming me means only one thing: I have to file a federal lawsuit to resolve this.

I've already filed in federal court and won before. But aside from cost, it is stressful. It is harmful to health and it is so exhausting. My full time job has turned into infringement claims and DMCA notices.

The CCB was supposed to prevent exactly this kind of corporate evasion, yet its opt-out provision has become a shield for companies that would rather force individuals into silence than face accountability.

Amazon is just another big rich giant. There are many big companies who take the same approach with creators' rights. So take Amazon's treatment of me, and imagine also handling five other big giants at the same time, begging and pleading with them to remove my work. That's my reality.

This lasts for years until you DO SOMETHING. Because they never have to deal with it, because stonewalling most people make them go away.

But I don't go away. I cannot imagine accepting this treatment for every single image of mine they allow to be infringed on.

So it stops NOW.

Why I Filed, and Why I Will Continue To

I have two active federal lawsuits against Meta and Taboola currently, I have one pending against another big advertiser and now I will be adding Amazon to my list.

I want to be clear: I am not litigious. I don’t look for reasons to sue. I only pursue legal action when communication fails and the infringer refuses to take responsibility. In every case, I have first tried to resolve matters directly, professionally, and privately.

What pushes me to act is not greed or vengeance. It is principle. When a corporation ignores the law, refuses to remove stolen work, and hides behind bureaucracy, it sets a dangerous precedent. Silence in the face of infringement only enables it.

The Human Cost

These experiences come at a cost most people never see. The time spent documenting, filing, and following up. The financial expense of legal action. The emotional weight of being ignored by billion-dollar entities that treat your art like it’s disposable. Who use images of minor children to fatten their wallets.

It affects your work, your energy, and your mental health. Each incident chips away at the creative peace that fuels your art. And when the image at the center of it all features your your friend's child, that pain cuts even deeper.

Creators shouldn’t have to sacrifice their mental well-being to protect what is legally and morally theirs.

Where We Go from Here

Amazon had every opportunity to do the right thing. Instead, it ignored valid notices, removed the infringing content only after being named in a legal action, and opted out of the process entirely.

Their choice to evade responsibility is now documented. My case will move forward in federal court, and I intend to share every filing publicly so that others can learn from it.

Maybe this strategy makes other people give up. But I don’t give up, especially when a company intentionally causes harm and hides behind legal process to avoid accountability.

Amazon’s executives, investors, and legal counsel are all aware of this case. What they do next will define not just their treatment of me, but their respect for every independent creator whose work fuels their platform.

Stay tuned for updates.