The positron annihilation spectroscopy has proven to be useful method for the investigation of defects in subsurface zones created e.g., during the sliding contact of two metals or the indentation. The present work is focused on the study of the defect profile which occurs in the copper substrate coated by the indium layer and covered by the indentations with the small ball. In our studies we showed that the coating reduces the extension of the defect depth profile and changes its shape as well. The experimental studies have been correlated with the theoretical predictions in the frame of the elasticity theory. (C) 2004 Kluwer Academic Publishers.