Trademark Infringement Cease and Desist Letter

A Cease and Desist Letter is used as a formal request to the recipient to stop (cease) and not continue (desist) any unwelcome or illegal behavior. If the recipient fails to comply with the request, the sender should be prepared to take further legal action to stop the behavior that is harming or interfering with the sender's rights and abilities to conduct business.

This Cease and Desist Letter is specifically drafted to address infringement on the sender's mark. A "mark" is any visible sign that is capable of distinguishing the goods (trademark) and services (service mark) of a business or enterprise. There is infringement when the sender's mark is being used by some other party without permission.

If the infringement on the copyrights of an artistic or literary work, a Copyright Infringement Cease and Desist Letter should be used.

How to use this document

This document can be used by any person or business whose mark is being infringed. The user should complete the information required in the document. Once completed, the sender should print and sign the document. If there will be attachments to the letter, the sender should mark the attachments accordingly and attach the same to the letter. Marking the attachments means identifying the attachments by writing the words "Annex "A", Annex "B", and so on, on the attachments. The sender should use the letter as a guide to properly mark the attachments.

The letter can then be sent by registered mail or by personal service.

Applicable law

There are no laws outlining what must be included in a Cease and Desist Letter. However, it is important to include a detailed description of the offending behavior and a clear demand to stop the behavior otherwise legal action may be taken. The Cease and Desist Letter can also be used as evidence that the recipient was put on notice about their offending behavior so the more detailed the letter, the better.

Republic Act No. 8293 (the "Intellectual Property Code of the Philippines") may be relevant to this matter, especially if the offending behavior does not stop and further action becomes necessary.

How to modify the template

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At the end, you receive it in Word and PDF formats. You can modify it and reuse it.