DMCA

Last updated: October 29, 2026

Pawsomely respects the work of photographers, illustrators, designers and every other creator. This page explains how to tell us if you believe something on pawsomely.shop, or a product we made, uses your copyrighted work without permission, and how we handle such notices under the US Digital Millennium Copyright Act (DMCA). It also explains how a customer can respond if their own content was removed by mistake. For trademarks and other rights, see our Intellectual Property Policy.

1. What this page covers

Copyright protects original creative works such as photographs, drawings, illustrations, written text and graphic designs. On pawsomely.shop, copyright questions can come up in a few ways:

• Website content: images, product photos, text and designs shown on our pages.
• Product designs: the artwork used on our ornaments, doormats, mugs, blankets and keepsakes.
• Customer content: photos and text customers send us for personalization, which we use to make their order.
• Reviews: text and photos that verified buyers post in product reviews.

Pet photos are a special case. A photo of a dog or cat belongs to the person who took it, not to the pet’s owner automatically. Most customers send photos they took themselves, which is perfect. Problems usually arise when someone uses a professional pet portrait, a photo from a breeder’s website or an image found online without the photographer’s permission.

2. How to send a copyright notice

If you believe your copyrighted work appears on pawsomely.shop or was used on a Pawsomely product without permission, send a written notice that includes all of the following:

1. Your physical or electronic signature (typing your full legal name is acceptable for an electronic signature).
2. A description of the copyrighted work you believe was infringed, such as “my photograph of a golden retriever on a beach, published on my portfolio site on a specific date”, with a link or copy if possible.
3. The exact location of the material on our site, such as the full URL of the product page or image. If it concerns a product you saw that we made for someone else, describe it as precisely as you can.
4. Your contact details: name, postal address, telephone number and email address.
5. A statement that you have a good-faith belief that the use is not authorised by the copyright owner, its agent or the law.
6. A statement that the information in your notice is accurate and, under penalty of perjury, that you are the copyright owner or authorised to act on the owner’s behalf.

Send the notice to support@pawsomely.shop with “DMCA notice” in the subject line, or by post to Pawsomely, 67 Melrose Ave, Lynbrook, NY 11563, US. Email is faster. Notices missing key information may delay our response; if something is missing we will tell you what we need.

3. What we do when we receive a notice

We confirm receipt and review the notice promptly. If it is complete and the claim is reasonable on its face, we remove or disable access to the material identified. That can mean taking down an image or a product page, removing a review photo, or refusing to produce an order that uses the work. If the material came from a customer, for example a photo sent for personalization or posted in a review, we let that customer know what was removed and share a copy of the notice, with your personal contact details handled as the law requires.

We may also contact you if we need more information to identify the material, especially for products made for individual orders that are not shown publicly on the site.

4. Counter-notification

If material you provided was removed and you believe that happened because of a mistake or misidentification, you can send a counter-notice. It must include:

1. Your physical or electronic signature.
2. A description of the material that was removed and where it appeared before removal.
3. A statement, under penalty of perjury, that you have a good-faith belief the material was removed as a result of mistake or misidentification.
4. Your name, address and telephone number, and a statement that you consent to the jurisdiction of the federal district court for your address (or, if you are outside the United States, any judicial district in which Pawsomely may be found), and that you will accept service of process from the person who sent the original notice.

When we receive a valid counter-notice, we send a copy to the person who sent the original notice. If they do not tell us within 10 to 14 business days that they have filed a court action, we may restore the material. If the material was a personalization photo for an order, “restoring” means we can go ahead with production; we will discuss timing with you.

5. Customer photos and personalization

When you send us a photo for a personalized product, you confirm that you took it or have permission to use it, as set out in our Terms of Service. A few simple guidelines keep everyone safe:

• Photos you took yourself, on your own phone or camera, are always fine.
• Photos taken by a friend or family member are fine if they are happy for you to use them.
• Professional portraits (for example from a pet photographer or a shelter adoption photo shoot) usually need the photographer’s permission, even if you paid for the session. Many photographers are happy to give it; just ask.
• Images found on social media, search engines or other websites should not be used unless you have permission from the person who owns them.
• Logos, cartoon characters and artwork from other brands are not accepted for personalization.

If we have doubts about a photo, we will email you before producing the item. If you cannot confirm permission, we can suggest a design without the photo or refund your order in full.

6. False or misleading notices

Under US law, a person who knowingly makes a material misrepresentation in a notice or counter-notice may be liable for damages, including costs and attorneys’ fees. Please make sure the work is actually yours and the use is actually unauthorised before sending a notice. Fair use and licences are worth considering first.

7. Repeat infringement

Where appropriate, we refuse orders from, and close the accounts of, customers who repeatedly submit content that infringes other people’s copyrights. We decide each case on its facts.

8. Example situations

A photographer finds their portrait on a mug

A pet photographer sees a customer’s social media post showing a Pawsomely mug printed with a portrait from one of their paid sessions. The photographer emails us a notice with the details above. We check our order records, confirm that the photo was used for an order, inform the customer and make sure we do not produce that design again without permission. If the customer has the photographer’s permission, they can send a counter-notice or, more simply, ask the photographer to confirm permission to us by email.

An illustrator recognises their artwork on a product page

An illustrator believes a design element on one of our product pages copies their drawing. They send a notice with a link to their original work and to our product page. We take the product page down while we review it. If the design was licensed or created independently, we explain this to the illustrator; if it was not, it stays down and is removed from our range.

A review photo shows someone else’s image

A customer posts a review photo that turns out to be a picture taken from another website. The owner of the picture asks us to remove it. We remove the photo from the review and let the reviewer know; the written review stays if it is otherwise genuine.

9. What we ask of our own suppliers

Every design we sell should be original to Pawsomely or properly licensed, and anyone who creates designs for us is expected to have the rights to what they deliver. If a notice shows that a design we sell was not cleared properly, we stop selling it and work with the rights owner to put things right.

10. Notices about other websites

This page only covers pawsomely.shop and products made by Pawsomely. If you find our product photos or designs on another website, marketplace or social media account, that is a concern for us too; please let us know. We cannot act on your behalf for content on other websites, but we can tell you whether the listing is genuinely ours.

11. If you are not sure

Not every concern needs a formal legal notice. If you noticed something on our site that you think might be yours, or you are a photographer who simply wants to ask a question, email us in your own words. We are a small shop and we would much rather talk it through than involve lawyers. Formal DMCA notices are still welcome whenever you prefer them.

12. Contact

DMCA notices and counter-notices: support@pawsomely.shop (subject “DMCA notice” or “DMCA counter-notice”) or Pawsomely, 67 Melrose Ave, Lynbrook, NY 11563, US. For general questions, visit our Contact Us page or the Help Center. We reply within 24 hours on business days.