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My Online Course Is Being Pirated: An Evidence-to-Removal Action Plan

Found your course on a piracy site, Telegram channel, file host or reseller? This guide gives you the exact evidence, DMCA template, platform routes and verification process.

If your course is being pirated, the fastest useful question is: Where is the actual course file or access being delivered from? A piracy page can be only the front door.

The videos, PDFs, ZIP files, cloud folder, or seller checkout may live somewhere else.

Use this process.

Step 1: Save the evidence

Record:

  • piracy page or post URL
  • screenshots
  • course title
  • module or lesson names visible
  • uploader or seller identity
  • price if it is being resold
  • file-host or cloud-storage URL
  • Telegram or Discord link if relevant
  • search result
  • date and time

Also save your official course page and enough evidence to show that you own or control the course content.

Step 2: Classify what was leaked

Mark the finding as one or more of these:

  • full course archive
  • individual videos
  • PDF/workbook
  • cloud folder
  • public Telegram channel
  • public Discord/community post
  • torrent
  • reseller storefront
  • account-sharing or credential sale
  • copied sales page only

Do not use the same process for every category.

Step 3: Find the actual delivery layer

Follow the public path without downloading suspicious files.

Examples:

Piracy page -> Dropbox folder

Telegram post -> Google Drive

Seller page -> checkout -> file host

Forum post -> torrent

The service that actually stores or controls the file is often the strongest source-removal target.

Record that URL separately.

If the file is on a known platform, use its official process.

Examples:

If the course is on a standalone piracy site, use the site's published copyright process first, then investigate the underlying file host and web host if needed.

Step 5: Use this course-specific DMCA notice

Use a provider's form when available. For free-form email notices, this structure contains the core Section 512 elements:

Copyable text
Subject: DMCA Notice of Claimed Infringement - [COURSE NAME]

To: [SERVICE PROVIDER / DESIGNATED DMCA AGENT]

I am [the copyright owner / authorized to act on behalf of the copyright owner] for the course identified below.

Copyrighted work:
[Course name and short description]

Official course URL:
[URL]

Material claimed to infringe:
[Describe the copied course videos, PDFs, downloads, or course archive]

Infringing URL(s):
[Exact URL 1]
[Exact URL 2]

I request that you remove or disable access to the material identified above.

I have a good-faith belief that use of the material in the manner complained of is not authorized by the copyright owner, its agent, or the law.

The information in this notice is accurate and, under penalty of perjury, I state that I am the copyright owner or am authorized to act on behalf of the owner of an exclusive right that is allegedly infringed.

Name:
Company:
Mailing address:
Telephone:
Email:

Electronic signature:
[Full legal name]

Step 6: If the course is on Telegram, split Telegram from the file host

Telegram's current FAQ says it accepts copyright complaints for public-platform content such as public bots, channels, and groups. Telegram also says it does not process copyright requests related to private groups and chats.

For a public Telegram channel, send the complaint to:

dmca@telegram.org

Identify:

  • the course
  • the exact public Telegram link
  • the specific post or channel
  • your ownership or authority
  • the external file URL if the post links elsewhere

If the post points to Dropbox, Google Drive, or another file host, report that file separately.

Removing the Telegram post does not remove the external file.

Step 7: If someone is selling the course, map the sale

Save:

  • seller page
  • price
  • checkout URL
  • seller identity
  • delivery URL
  • payment provider where identifiable

Then use:

  1. the marketplace or storefront IP route
  2. the delivery-file host route
  3. a payment-provider IP route only if the current policy fits

For Stripe, use: https://stripe.com/legal/ip-policy

Stripe asks complainants to establish that Stripe is actually being used in connection with the allegedly infringing sale.

For Paypal, use: https://www.paypal.com/ca/cshelp/article/what-is-paypals-infringement-report-process-help271 https://www.paypal.com/ca/legalhub/paypal/acceptableuse-full

Step 8: Delist Google and Bing

If the piracy page ranks for your course name, file search-removal requests too.

Google: https://support.google.com/legal-help-center/answer/13887279

Bing: https://www.bing.com/webmaster/contentremovalform/showcontentremovalform

Do not wait for source removal before filing a valid search request if search visibility is actively sending users to the copy. Just report the outcome correctly.

Step 9: Follow up if the first notice does not resolve it

Copyable text
Subject: Follow-up - Copyright Infringement Notice [REFERENCE]

I am following up on the copyright notice submitted on [DATE] regarding:

[URLS]

Reference:
[REFERENCE]

The reported course material remains accessible as of [DATE / TIME], or I have not received a substantive response.

Please confirm the status and let me know whether any additional information is required.

Name:
Company:
Email:

If the first party does not control the file, move to the file host or other real control point.

Step 10: Verify every layer

Check:

  • piracy page
  • direct file or folder
  • Telegram/public post
  • seller listing
  • Google
  • Bing
  • mirrors

A course can be:

  • removed from Telegram
  • still active on Dropbox
  • delisted from Google
  • reappeared in a new channel

Those are separate states.

Step 11: Watch for recurrence

If the same course keeps returning, stop treating every URL as an unrelated incident.

Track the protected course across:

  • aliases
  • file names
  • images
  • video matches
  • known piracy sites
  • public messaging channels
  • new file hosts

That is where ongoing anti-piracy protection starts to make more sense than one-off notices.

If you want a current map of what is live before doing the work yourself, start a Free Evidence Audit.

Official references