PicRights

What PicRights does

PicRights is a privately held copyright enforcement and claims resolution company headquartered in Pfäffikon SZ, Switzerland, founded in 2017. It operates a transaction-based business in which the company monitors the web for unauthorized use of images owned by its rights holder clients, issues formal infringement notices to offending website operators, and facilitates settlement via a secure self-service portal. Revenue is generated primarily through retroactive licensing fees collected from alleged infringers, structured around Rights-Managed (RM) and Royalty-Free (RF) industry pricing standards, plus service fees charged to rights holders for enforcement and claims management.

The firm's product surface consists of three core portals: the main PicRights platform for rights holder-side claims management, the Resolution Portal (resolve.picrights.com) where alleged infringers view evidence and pay settlements, and the History Portal (history.picrights.com) for accessing prior settlement records. Adjacent offerings include picrights.global for IP protection services, monitoring and detection modules, and structured licensing for RM and RF imagery. The technology stack is conventional enterprise web infrastructure with PCI DSS-certified payment handling, GDPR-compliant data processing, and standard analytics/marketing tooling rather than proprietary AI.

PicRights serves a B2B rights holder base composed primarily of major news agencies (Reuters, Associated Press, AFP, The Canadian Press, APA, DPA, ANSA, AAP) and large image libraries (Profimedia, Mauritius Images, Science Photo Library, Nature Picture Library, Biosphoto, Bridgeman Images, PA Images, EPA Images), while its end-customer counterparties are the millions of websites that may have used licensed images without authorization. The company operates seven wholly-owned regional legal entities in Switzerland, Canada, the United Kingdom, Italy, Australia, Brazil, and South Africa, with multilingual coverage across more than 20 countries and languages. Its enforcement-driven go-to-market uses direct notices as the primary acquisition channel, supported by DMLA and CEPIC industry memberships.

Name

PicRights

Legal name

PicRights Europe GmbH

Website

https://picrights.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

2017

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

PicRights is a Swiss-headquartered copyright enforcement firm that monitors unauthorized image usage on behalf of major news agencies and image libraries, then resolves infringement claims via settlement portals operated across more than 20 countries.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Copyright Enforcement and Claims Resolution Services

NAICS

Commercial Photography (541922), Photographic Services (54192)

SIC

Services-Mailing, Reproduction, Commercial Art & Photography (7330)

akta.pro primary industry

Rights Management, Content ID & Anti-Piracy Platforms (MPACABAK)

Keywords

• Copyright enforcement services
• Image licensing settlements
• Intellectual property claims resolution
• Photo agency rights management
• Copyright monitoring platform

Headquarters

HQ city

Adliswil

HQ country

Switzerland

HQ region

Europe

Offices7 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Technology or R&D, Infrastructure

Revenue model

1. Copyright Infringement Resolution Services: PicRights generates revenue by helping copyright holders (primarily image libraries and media companies) enforce their rights against unauthorized image usage. Infringers who receive notices can resolve claims by paying retroactive licensing fees based on standard industry rates for the type of image (Rights-Managed or Royalty-Free) and usage context. The company also charges for the enforcement and claims management service provided to their clients.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels2 records

Marketing channels4 records

Core offering

PicRights provides copyright enforcement and claims resolution services on behalf of image libraries and news agencies. They proactively identify unauthorized use of copyrighted images on the web, issue formal notices to alleged infringers, and facilitate resolution through a self-service portal where infringers pay retroactive licensing or settlement fees, avoiding litigation for both parties.

Product overview

PicRights operates a copyright enforcement and claims resolution platform consisting of multiple interconnected web portals and services. The core offering includes the main PicRights platform (picrights.com) for copyright claims management, the Resolution Portal (resolve.picrights.com) for alleged infringers to view and resolve claims, and the History Portal (history.picrights.com) for accessing past settlement records. The company also offers picrights.global for intellectual property owners seeking to protect their imagery. The platform specializes in Rights-Managed (RM) and Royalty-Free (RF) image licensing, providing monitoring, detection, and enforcement services for rights holders. Settlement agreements are facilitated by compliance officers without court involvement. The company serves clients across 23+ countries with multilingual support in 20+ languages through offices in Switzerland, UK, Canada, Italy, Australia, Brazil, and South Africa.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• PicRights Resolution Portal Self-service web portal for alleged infringers to enter a reference number, view the copyrighted content and its unauthorized use, and resolve copyright claims via licensing or settlement payment. Uses SSL-encrypted secure communications.
• PicRights History Portal Web portal allowing users to access historical records of copyright claims and settlements, including past usage data, payment records, and claim resolution history.
• PicRights Copyright Claims Management End-to-end service for managing copyright claims from initial notice issuance through resolution, including compliance officer support, legal guidance, and settlement facilitation aimed at resolving infringement disputes without court involvement.
• PicRights Copyright Enforcement Platform Central platform through which PicRights monitors unauthorized image use on behalf of rights holders, issues notices, and facilitates settlement of copyright claims against website operators, with compliance officer oversight across 20+ countries.

Named customers18 records

Segments3 records

Ideal customer profiles2 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Integration11 records

Partnerships

Two partnerships are on record, tiered minor.

• DMLA (Digital Media Licensing Association)minorOthersPicRights is a proud member of DMLA, an industry association for digital media licensing. This membership provides networking opportunities and industry credibility within the copyright licensing community.
• CEPICminorOthersPicRights is a member of CEPIC (Centre for the Exchange of Pictorial Information), a European association for image providers and users. Membership demonstrates commitment to industry standards and provides access to industry events and networking.

Scale indicators1 record

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• Copytrack: Berlin-based copyright enforcement firm that pursues unauthorized online image usage on behalf of image rights holders using a similar notice-and-settle model. Closest direct peer to PicRights in workflow, geography, and customer profile (stock libraries and image agencies).
• Visual Rights Group: Image rights enforcement specialist focused on pursuing copyright infringements on behalf of photographers and image libraries. Comparable niche enforcement firm with a similar claims-management service model to PicRights.
• Pixsy: Photographer-focused copyright enforcement platform that detects unauthorized image use online and supports claim resolution, including reverse-image search and legal follow-through. Directly comparable to PicRights' core workflow but skewed toward individual photographers rather than wire services and libraries.

Broad incumbents

• Getty Images: Largest global stock imagery company; operates its own enforcement efforts for unauthorized use of Getty content across the web. Comparable both as a major rights holder in PicRights' addressable supplier base and as an in-house alternative to outsourced enforcement.
• Copyright Clearance Center: Established rights-licensing and content-management organization serving publishers and corporate content users globally. Comparable as a rights-management counterpart that solves a related but broader problem (text and image licensing) rather than web-image infringement enforcement.
• Shutterstock Editorial: Stock and editorial content platform that runs its own content-protection function (PicRights client per homepage). Comparable as both a rights holder and a large incumbent operating enforcement capabilities internally rather than outsourcing.

Emerging players

• Pex: Content identification platform that uses fingerprinting and AI to track video and audio reuse across the web. Comparable as an early-stage technology-led rights-detection and monetization player that competes for a share of the same enforcement/identification adjacency.

Others

• MarkMonitor (Clarivate): Brand and IP protection service within Clarivate, focused on online fraud, brand abuse, and counterfeit enforcement. Adjacent rather than directly competitive, but addresses the same online IP-protection buyer with overlapping monitoring and notice expertise.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Facebookfacebook.com/PicRights
• Xx.com/picrights
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/legal/privacy-policy

Compliance2 records

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles1 record

Subsidiaries5 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about PicRights