A Cease and Desist letter in Intellectual Property (IP) law is a written letter from an owner of intellectual property or other rights to an infringer of those rights. The letter typically demands that:
Cease and desist notices can be written by the owner of the rights, or by their agent (such as a solicitor or patent attorney).
A response is required from the infringer and legal action may follow.
If you become aware that your trademark, invention or other IP is being used without your permission, you may choose to send a cease and desist notice to the offender.
A cease and desist is the most inexpensive and efficient way to notify an individual or business that they have infringed upon or violated your IP rights. Most infringement doesn’t go beyond the cease and desist letter stage.
In some cases, this may be all that is required to stop the offending behaviour and could see you avoid costly litigation in the future.
Most legitimate businesses or well-respected individuals will pay attention to allegations of infringing activity and respond accordingly.
Of course, there are situations where offenders are already aware they have stolen your IP and will ignore your requests. In these cases, formal legal action may be necessary which is both expensive and time-consuming.
Before sending a cease and desist, it is wise to speak with an attorney. Unjustified threats of infringement against a third party can result in them claiming damages from the person making unjustified threats.
An IP attorney will ensure your notice complies with relevant legislation and that proper checks have been performed to establish ownership and whether there is actually infringement.
If you receive a Cease and Desist letter, it is very important not to ignore it, as costs could escalate dramatically. You should instead seek out the assistance of a qualified IP attorney.
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IP Guardian helps protect words, symbols, letters, numbers, names, signatures, phrases, sounds, shapes and smells. Yes, I said smells.
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