A Cease & Desist Letter is the first step to ask any individual or a business who is infringing your copyright, to stop such illegal activity and infringement of your legal rights. The purpose of the letter is to inform him about your further legal action if he does not stop.
A Cease and Desist Letter can also offer to start a negotiation of a license. It is also referred as Demand letter. It is also used as a pre litigation document to be used as evidence that the sender tried to settle the issue amicably out of the court. In this letter the sender can warn the recipient of his intentions to start a litigation against him if the recipient fails to comply with the demands of the sender.
If you are the recipient of the Cease and Desist Notice:
- A cease and desist letter does not mean that you have been sued however you can be in the future. Sending a cease and desist letter can be a first step before filing a lawsuit but it is not a law suit
- Consult your lawyer. He will best advise you
- Don’t Ignore It
- Comply with it if the requested action is minor and will not disrupt your business
- Prepare and send a Response your self or through your lawyer
- Deny the claims if these are false
- Explain the claims if these are not baseless
- Open negotiations to settle the claims if the claims are genuine
- If you have valid claims against the party that sent you the letter, you could also write back with your own cease and desist letter
- In certain situations, you can sue for a declaratory judgment, which is a ruling by a court stating that you are not infringing upon the rights of the other party
Intellectual Property Logium provides services for copyright Cease and Desist Notice.
