Intellectual Property Cease and Desist Letter

A Cease and Desist is a letter sent to an individual or business that is engaging in unwelcome or illegal behavior. The Cease and Desist acts as a formal request that the recipient stop ("cease") and not continue ("desist") this behavior. If the recipient of the letter fails to comply with these demands, 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 should be used in cases of intellectual property infringement. This letter can be used for either trademark infringement, wherein an individual's business trademark is being used by some other party without permission, or copyright infringement, where a writer, artist, or other creator's original content is being used by some other party without permission.

This website also has Cease and Desist documents for the following situations:

• Debt Collection Cease and Desist letter tailored to demand that creditors and debt collectors stop their aggressive communications in an attempt to collect a debt
• Harassment Cease and Desist letter tailored to demand that a party stop harassment
• General Purpose Cease and Desist letter that can be used to demand any unwanted behavior stop

How to use this document

A Cease and Desist letter includes the following basic elements:

• Sender: an individual or business who is requesting that a behavior stop
• Recipient: an individual or business who is being asked to stop a behavior
• A detailed description of the offending behavior and the negative effects the behavior has had
• A warning that a lawsuit will result if the offending behavior does not stop
• A deadline by which the offending behavior must stop or else further legal action will be taken

This Cease and Desist letter can be used for two of the most common uses of such a letter:

• Trademark Infringement: A demand that an individual or business stop using a trademark (a name, phrase, logo, design, or image that helps consumers identify a product or service with a particular brand) that has already been registered by someone else with the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office
• Copyright Infringement: A demand that an individual or business stop using already published materials protected by U.S. Copyright laws without obtaining permission from the owner of the copyright and giving proper attribution to the creator of those materials

Once the letter has been completed, it should be sent via certified mail to the individual or business that has been conducting the offensive behavior.

Applicable law

There are no laws outlining what must be included in a Cease and Desist letter. However, best practices dictate that a Cease and Desist include a detailed description of the offending behavior and a clear demand that the behavior stop or else legal action will be taken. Further, Cease and Desist letters are often used in later court cases to show that the Defendant was put on notice about their offending behavior, so the more detailed the letter, the better.

The issues covered by the Cease and Desist letter implicate federal laws surrounding intellectual property, such as copyright law and trademark law.

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