Can Upwork help me file a copyright case?

[culmen]

Hello 

I am a freelancer from last 4 years. I got this project from a client of mine, giving me a project of $1000, telling me that she will give me $800 for my job + $200 as a bonus for good work.

I finished her work, a website(STILL LIVE AND WORKING). She kept asking for additional work, and whenever I'd refuse, she would say, okay, remember I will pay you $200 for this? Well, I kept doing extra work for the sake of rating and the money. 

There came a point when things were unbearable, she paid me $800 however, she kept asking for unlimited revisions again and again(things that were not a part of my job, however, I had to do it for the sake of it. 

Finally, I refused. She went ahead and filed a chargeback from the bank. I received a message from Upwork stating that they will return my money as a one-time courtesy if I keep helping them fight. I gave everything, every proof, live website link. THE CHAT HISTORY is the link where I worked on it. Everything.

I received a message from Upwork a few days ago telling me that the bank charged them back, they took money from me stating that the message of I'll-get-you-money-back-if-you-help was sent by mistake. 

Here I am, with an empty pocket,  looking at a live website, happily working, Upwork agents apologizing for wrong tickets; and nothing left for myself. 

My only last hope from Upwork is, will they help me file a copyright case against my client? She is using my material without paying me for it and the entire Upwork chat is the proof of it. 

[petra_r]

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Maroof U wrote:

I received a message from Upwork a few days ago telling me that the bank charged them back, they took money from me stating that the message of I'll-get-you-money-back-if-you-help was sent by mistake. 

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Frankly, that was their mistake, not yours, if that's the case, so I'd push them to do as they promised.

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Maroof U wrote:

My only last hope from Upwork is, will they help me file a copyright case against my client? She is using my material without paying me for it and the entire Upwork chat is the proof of it. 

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No, Upwork won't help you bring a copyright case (that would cost you far more than you could get,) but if your work is somewhere online, you can issue a DMCA Take Down notice yourself.

[culmen]

Thank you Petra
DCMA Takedown is my last move. The website is live and working. However, what saddened me was Upwork refusing to pay after this being their original message

**Edited for Community Guidelines**

[petra_r · Accepted solution]

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Maroof U wrote:

Thank you Petra
DCMA Takedown is my last move. The website is live and working. However, what saddened me was Upwork refusing to pay after this being their original message

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If indeed they promised that, and you upheld your part of the agreement, I would absolutely tell them that their mistake is not your problem and to pay you what they promised to pay you. 

Don't drop it. Keep getting it escalated.

If Upwork says "If you do X, we will do Y" and you did X, then whether they made that promise by accident or not is not your problem.  They need to do Y.

A DCMA takedown notice costs you nothing, so you might as well go for that!

[g_vasilevski]

Hi Maroof,

I`m sorry to hear about the bad experience you had.

Could you please send me a PM (click on my name) with the ticket number where our team has mentioned this so that I can check the details and advise you accordingly? Thank you.

[culmen]

Thanks, Goran
I have just done the same. 

[g_vasilevski]

Thank you for the PM Maroof,

Once again I would like to apologize about the inconvenience this had caused you and confirmed that I`ve escalated your case. Once we have more information from our team one of us (Moderators) will post a detailed update here. Thank you.

[culmen]

The team did reach back and gave me the funds back. 

Thank you Goran and Petra!

[petra_r]

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Maroof U wrote:

The team did reach back and gave me the funds back. 

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That is great news! Thanks for reporting back and I am glad that Upwork came through and did the right thing.

Vladimir G wrote:

I'm sorry about the confusion our previous communication created. I'd like to share that our team confirmed we'll honour the commitment we've made to you and cover the chargeback amount

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One may be forgiven to wonder if this had been the outcome if Maroof had not posted on the forum.

[VladimirG]

Hi Maroof,

I'm sorry about the confusion our previous communication created. I'd like to share that our team confirmed we'll honour the commitment we've made to you and cover the chargeback amount, minus the Upwork service fee. Our team will follow up with you directly with more information soon. Thank you for your cooperation and feel free to follow up if you have any questions or need further assistance.