Defend Civil Society from Copyright Scam
Pro Publico matched Volonteurope, a European non-profit network focused on promoting active citizenship and volunteering, with Van Bael & Bellis, one of our member law firms in Brussels, to help it respond to copyright claims over its past publications.
Copyright claims against NGOs often arrive out of the blue. A letter cites an image used in a report published a decade ago and asks for payment, with the threat of further steps. For a small team without in-house lawyers, telling a fair claim from pressure to settle is genuinely hard. That is the situation Volonteurope faced in 2025.
When Old Images Become New Claims
In 2025, Volonteurope received a formal compensation demand from a copyright enforcement agency acting for an international news agency. It concerned two images in publications released more than ten years earlier and asked for €1,148. Further letters soon followed, about other images.
The network had sourced its images in good faith, many of them from official EU image resources. It had also received similar letters before the pandemic. Moreover, it was not alone: colleagues at other EU-wide networks had received comparable demands. Some paid, while others ignored them.
For Volonteurope, the question went beyond one bill. Civil society already faces mounting political and financial pressure. Aggressive copyright claims against NGOs could become one more way to drain scarce resources.
A European Network for Social Justice
Volonteurope has worked since 1981 to achieve more social justice in Europe and beyond. Today the non-profit network brings together 51 members across 30 countries.
Its mission is to foster civic engagement, social action and volunteering. Through them, it aims to build inclusive, tolerant, diverse and resilient communities. From its base in Brussels, it engages with policymakers at EU and Council of Europe level and runs projects with partners across Europe.
Like many networks, it works with a lean team. Every hour spent on legal correspondence is an hour taken away from its members and its mission.
Why Volonteurope Needed Pro Bono Legal Support
Volonteurope turned to Pro Publico for an independent risk assessment of the claims: their legal basis, its real exposure and its options for responding. Above all, it wanted to know whether it could contest the demands rather than simply pay. We vetted the request, scoped it with the team and shared it with the law firms and consultancies in our network.
The Right Match in Brussels
Van Bael & Bellis, one of our member law firms, answered the call. The firm advises multinational companies, public bodies and trade associations on complex EU and Belgian law, including intellectual property.
Two of its lawyers, Malik Aouadi and Ossama M’Rini, took on the case. The firm’s pro bono programme includes dedicated support for NGOs and social enterprises. For Volonteurope, that meant access to the same calibre of advice the firm gives its commercial clients.
How the Work Unfolded
The collaboration moved forward step by step:
- Pro Publico organised a first call, then connected Volonteurope directly with the lawyers.
- Volonteurope signed the engagement with VBB and shared the demand letters, the publications concerned and its records on where the images came from.
- The lawyers reviewed the material and the claims against it.
- The VBB team then contacted the copyright enforcement agency on Volonteurope’s behalf. It also asked the team to clarify each claim and the photos used, so it could guide the next steps.
Throughout, Pro Publico stayed in touch with Volonteurope to check that the collaboration was on track.
The Story So Far: Back to the Mission
Since VBB stepped in, no new demand letters have reached Volonteurope. The network credits VBB’s support with stopping them. “Instead of worrying about the threats made against us, we can now concentrate our efforts on the day-to-day work that our mission requires,” says Piotr Sadowski, Secretary General of Volonteurope. “The relief this brought to the team, and the stability it gave the organisation, should not be underestimated.”
The matter has now been quiet for months. Should a new letter arrive, Volonteurope knows what to do without wasting any more precious energy on these pernicious demands.
A First-Class Treatment
For a small organisation, how it is treated matters as much as the advice itself. “The firm treated us like any other private or corporate client. We felt like equal partners in the process, never as a smaller or less important organisation, and our questions and concerns were taken seriously throughout,” Piotr explains.
He also valued the coordination around the case. “The stakeholder cooperation was also very helpful indeed. It allowed us to approach the situation in a coordinated way and with the right people involved.”
Answering Copyright Claims Against NGOs, Together
Copyright claims against NGOs rarely make headlines. Yet they absorb time, money and attention that small organisations cannot spare. Pro bono legal support gives these organisations a fair way to answer. Our thanks go to Malik, Ossama and the pro bono team at VBB led by partner Johan Mouraux and Reem Shehata for giving Volonteurope one.
Pro Publico does not give legal advice itself. Our role is to vet requests, scope them and find the right professionals, then stay close until the work is done. “The support from Pro Publico was very attentive and smooth from beginning to end,” Piotr says. “We never felt left alone with the problem, and we always knew who to turn to and what the next steps were.”
Volonteurope’s case joins other governance and compliance stories where expert advice helped a civil society organisation protect its resources and stay focused on its mission.
Do you need legal or advocacy support to advance a public interest?