DMCA

Last updated: October 31, 2026

Sock Joy prints people’s own photos on socks, so we take other people’s photos seriously. This page explains how a copyright owner can tell us that something on sockjoy.shop, or something we have been asked to print, uses their work without permission, and how the person who supplied that material can respond. It follows the notice-and-takedown process of the U.S. Digital Millennium Copyright Act (17 U.S.C. § 512). For trademarks, likeness and other rights, see our Intellectual Property Policy.

1. What this process covers

This process applies to copyright in any material connected with Sock Joy, including:

• images, illustrations and text on product pages, collection pages and other pages of sockjoy.shop;
• photos that customers send us through links in their order notes so we can print them on socks;
• any review or customer photo shown on the site with the customer’s permission.

Sock Joy is a single store selling its own personalized socks. There are no third-party sellers on the site. If you believe a product or page here copies your work, this is the right place to tell us.

1.1 What copyright covers, and what it does not

Copyright protects original creative works such as photographs, drawings, paintings and written text. It does not protect names, short phrases, ideas or a general style like “a pattern of tiny faces”. Brand names and logos are usually trademarks rather than copyright works. If your concern is about a logo, a character name or a person’s face, our Intellectual Property Policy explains how to report it.

2. How customer photos on socks fit in

Most of what we print comes from customers. A customer pastes a photo link into the order notes, we fetch the image and print it on a face cutout, an all-over print or a big-face design. Our Terms of Service require every customer to own the photo or have permission to use it. We also refuse orders that ask us to print licensed characters, team logos, celebrity faces or other work the customer clearly does not have rights to.

We cannot always tell who took a photo. A family snapshot and a professional portrait can look alike. That is why this notice process exists: the copyright owner knows their own work, and a proper notice tells us exactly what to stop using.

2.1 Common situations

• A professional photographer’s portrait. A customer orders custom face socks using a wedding or school portrait taken by a photographer who kept the copyright. The photographer may send a notice.
• An artist’s pet illustration. A customer links to a commissioned drawing of their dog found on the artist’s page and asks for pet face socks. The artist may send a notice if the customer did not have permission to reproduce it.
• Our own product images. If you believe one of the example images on a Sock Joy product page uses your photo or artwork, you may send a notice about that page.

2.2 Orders that have not shipped yet

If a notice concerns a photo in an order that has not been printed, we pause that item while we review the notice. If the notice is valid, we do not print the photo and we tell the customer that we cannot use it.

2.3 Orders that have already shipped

Once socks are delivered, they belong to the customer. We cannot recall them. What we can do is stop any further use of the photo, delete our copy and refuse future orders that use the same image. Photos fetched from customer links are deleted 30 days after delivery in any case, as explained in our Privacy Policy.

3. Sending a copyright notice

A notice must be in writing. To be complete under 17 U.S.C. § 512(c)(3), it must contain the following six elements:

1. A physical or electronic signature of the copyright owner, or of a person authorised to act for them. A typed full name at the end of an email counts as an electronic signature.
2. Identification of the copyrighted work you believe is being infringed. If several works are involved, a representative list is acceptable.
3. Identification of the material you believe infringes, with enough detail for us to find it: the exact URL on sockjoy.shop, or, for a printed order, a description of the image and any order details you have.
4. Your contact information: name, postal address, telephone number and email address.
5. A statement that you have a good-faith belief that the use of the material is not authorised by the copyright owner, its agent or the law.
6. A statement that the information in the notice is accurate and, under penalty of perjury, that you are the copyright owner or authorised to act on the owner’s behalf.

3.1 Where to send it

Email is the fastest route. A signed letter by post is also accepted. Please do not send copyright notices through order notes, because those are read as printing instructions.

3.2 About our designated agent

This page and the contact details above are how Sock Joy receives copyright notices. We do not claim here to have a designated agent registered with the U.S. Copyright Office. Notices sent to the email or postal address above are reviewed in the same way.

3.3 If you saw the socks, not the website

Sometimes a photographer spots their portrait on a pair of socks at a party or in a social media post rather than on our site. You may still send a notice. Tell us what the image shows, when and where you saw the socks, and any detail that may help us find the order, such as the name printed on the cuff or the approximate date. We will search our records in good faith, but we may not be able to match every report, especially after the photo has been deleted under our 30-day rule.

3.4 Acting for someone else

If you are a lawyer, agent or family member sending a notice for the copyright owner, say so in the notice and explain your authority to act. We may ask for confirmation before we act on it.

4. What we do after a notice arrives

1. We acknowledge it. We confirm receipt by email within 24 hours on business days.
2. We check that it is complete. If an element is missing, we ask you for it. We may not be able to act until the notice is complete.
3. We act on valid notices. We remove or disable access to the material on the site, or stop and refuse the print job, and delete our copy of the photo where relevant.
4. We tell the other side. If a customer supplied the material, we let them know it was removed and why, and we give them a copy of the notice. We may withhold your personal contact details where the law allows, but your name and the description of the work are usually shared so the customer understands the claim.
5. We confirm to you. We email you once the action is complete.

5. Counter-notices: if your photo was removed by mistake

Maybe that wedding portrait really was yours. Maybe the photographer gave you permission years ago. If material you supplied was removed and you believe that happened because of a mistake or misidentification, you may send a counter-notice under 17 U.S.C. § 512(g). It must include:

1. Your physical or electronic signature.
2. Identification of the material that was removed and where it appeared before removal, such as the URL or your order number.
3. A statement, under penalty of perjury, that you have a good-faith belief that the material was removed or disabled as a result of mistake or misidentification.
4. Your name, postal address and telephone number.
5. A statement that you consent to the jurisdiction of the U.S. federal district court for the judicial district where your address is located, or, if your address is outside the United States, any judicial district in which Sock Joy may be found, and that you will accept service of process from the person who sent the original notice or their agent.

Send your counter-notice to support@sockjoy.shop with the subject “Counter-notice”, or by post to the address above.

5.1 What happens next

We forward a complete counter-notice to the person who sent the original notice. Under the law, we may restore the material or resume the print job no less than 10 and no more than 14 business days after receiving the counter-notice, unless the original sender tells us they have filed a court action to stop the use. Because a delayed order can still miss a birthday or a Secret Santa swap, we will talk to you about whether you would prefer to use a different photo or cancel the item for a refund instead of waiting.

6. False notices and honest mistakes

Under 17 U.S.C. § 512(f), anyone who knowingly makes a material misrepresentation in a notice or counter-notice may be liable for damages, including costs and attorneys’ fees. Please consider whether the use could be authorised, licensed or allowed by law, such as fair use, before you send a notice. If you are unsure whether your rights are affected, you may want to get legal advice first. We cannot give legal advice.

7. Repeat infringers

We keep a record of valid notices. If a customer repeatedly supplies material that infringes someone’s copyright, we will refuse their future orders that use third-party images and may close their account. A single honest mistake, followed by a different photo, is not treated the same as a pattern of copying other people’s work.

8. Tips for customers choosing a photo

The easiest way to avoid this whole page is to use your own photos. A picture you took of your dog, your kids at the beach or your partner pulling a silly face is perfect. Some quick guidance:

• Photos you took yourself: fine.
• Photos a friend or relative took of your family and shared with you for personal use: usually fine, but ask them if you are unsure.
• Professional portraits: check your agreement with the photographer, or ask them for permission to print.
• Images found on search engines or social media, artwork, cartoons, memes and stock photos: do not use them unless you have permission.

Need ideas? Browse our face socks and pet face socks collections for the styles that work best with your own photos.

9. Contact for copyright questions

For copyright notices, counter-notices or questions about this page, email support@sockjoy.shop or write to Sock Joy, 45 Morton St, New York, NY 10014, US. For everything else, visit Contact Us.