Intellectual Property Cease and Desist Letter

An Intellectual Property Cease and Desist Letter is a letter requiring a person or business to stop infringing the intellectual property rights of another. This letter acts as a formal request to the recipient to stop and discontinue an infringing activity. But if the recipient fails to comply, legal action may be brought against the recipient.

This Intellectual Property Cease and Desist Letter should be used in cases of intellectual property infringement, such as:

• Copyright infringement: Copyright is an intellectual property right of a copyright holder to reproduce, use, copy, publish, and perform the creative work. Note that not all types of work can be copyrighted. For example, ideas, discoveries, theories and concepts can not be copyrighted. Copyright is an intellectual property right of a copyright holder to reproduce, use, copy, publish, and perform the creative work. Copyright infringement, in this case, is the use of works protected under the Copyright Act without the authorization of the copyright holder, thus, violating the owner's copyright. The copyright holder is the originator of creative work (such as writing or book, film, drama, music, comedy, etc.) or anyone authorized by the originator, and such rights include, the right to reproduce, distribute, display or perform a protected work.

• Trademark infringement: A trademark is a symbol, name/brand, or sign legally established by use as representing a business or product. A trade name/brand name is a name by which a product, or service is known in a profession or trade. For example, Guarantee Trust Bank PLC is the registered name, while GTB is the Bank's trade name. Therefore, the unauthorized use of a party's symbol, logo, brand name, or trade name constitutes an infringement.

Note that before a party can complain about intellectual property infringement, that party's intellectual property must be registered.

This document provides information about the sender and the recipient, how the sender's intellectual property is being infringed on, the date of registration of the intellectual property and a stern warning that the recipient should refrain from the infringement or else a legal action will be brought against them in court.

This letter is only used for intellectual property infringements. However, a General Cease and Desist Letter is also available for download.

How to use this document

This document is used by a party whose intellectual property rights have been infringed on. That is, where a person's work, trademark or trade name has been republished or otherwise copied without their permission.

After filling out this document, the sender should sign the document and deliver it to the individual or organization engaged in the infringement. If the sender is an organization, an authorized representative of the sender organization should sign the document on its behalf. The sender is also required to keep a copy of this letter for record purposes.

If the recipient does not stop the offending activity, the sender can institute legal action in court against the recipient.

Applicable law

There are no laws outlining the content of a Cease and Desist Letter. However, the sender is required to provide a clear description of the offending behaviour and a clear demand that the recipient must refrain from this behaviour or face legal action. This document may be used as evidence in court to show that the recipient was adequately notified of its behaviour and properly cautioned against it.

Note that the Trade Marks Act, of 2004 prohibits trademark infringement and the Copyrights Act prohibits the unauthorized use of a person's work in Nigeria.

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