You receive a cease and desist letter from the court when you have done something wrong or did something that was not supposed to be done. The letter is issued to make you refrain from illegal practices. In some cases, the government issues this letter to discontinue unfair practices.

What is Cease and desist letter?

Cease and desist is a legal order issued by the court or government to a business or an individual. They issue this letter to halt the illegal activity or unfair practice against someone or something. The words ‘Cease’ and ‘Desist’ are verbs meaning to discontinue, stop and bring an end to something. This order bans the person or company from activities that are suspicious as per the Interest Rate Control Act of 1978. Furthermore, there are various reasons to file the cease and desist order.

To stop doing something that is found to be illegal, the cease and desist is the first step to ask an individual or business. In case of trademark infringement, slander, libel, defamation, patent infringement, copyright infringement, and more, this letter may be sent to the party. Some other reasons to include are debt collection, breach of contract, or harassment. Sometimes, for unfair compensation or labor practices, this letter is also issued.

Additionally, the letter must follow the guidelines as per the law. After receiving the letter, the parties are called for a hearing in a court to see whether or not something wrong has happened or not. The party will be punished by the court in case they don’t comply with the cease and desist order. Therefore, it fulfills important requirements and stops illegal practices.

cease and desist collection attempts regarding account number

sample trademark cease and desist letter

cease and desist letter for debt collectors

Main reasons to write cease and desist letter:

Here are the most common reasons to write cease and desist letter;

To cease invasion of privacy, stalking, and harassment

Harassment problems are surely tricky to deal with. You have all the right to send a cease and desist letter to the person whom you find harassing you or seeking your attention in unacceptable ways.

In addition to this, filing this letter would indicate them you are seriously offended by what they have done. May be they punished for it. This will also make them realize that as a result of harassing they will suffer the legal costs and fees. When you send this letter, it will provide them a hint that they can be punished and taken to court.

To stop copyright and trademark infringements

Some bogus companies often try to cheat and infringe trademark of genuine companies. They also copyright of genuine companies and this is considered illegal and is subjected to strict punishment. You can use a cease and desist letter against the people who are infringing your trademark or copyright. This can be a sign of warning for them. It also indicates them that they can be legally punished for what they are doing.

Furthermore, the letter also declares that you can also sue for the damages you have faced along with identifying that you have future or present rights to pursue legal actions due to infringement.

Whether you are a writer or business owner, as a professional you have the authority for consent in case your content is being used or your copyrights are required. Cease and desist order is a great step that assists you in getting what is yours. By receiving a succinct cease and desist letter, the other party can literally feel haunt. Since the actual case may take a long time and during this time, your profits may be hurt so a cease and desist letter here is very useful.

To stop the breach of contract

In your contract, some parties try to interfere. This is where you need a cease and desist letter. For instance, you may have an agreement to establish something in the area. The company you were in the agreement with begins establishing something else. If you want them to stop quickly, you should send them a cease and desist letter.

To stop slander or libel

Slander or liber are considered the forms of defamation. This indicates that some other party’s words that harms your personal reputation or your lifestyle. Slander is basically the defamation that is verbal by the defendant. On the other hand, libel is the written or published defamatory statement created by someone against you. This can occur among business owners, employees, local people, and more.

Using a cease and desist letter is the best way to deal with this and ask them to stop. It might be a false statement written regarding you. You have to describe the defamation and give logic that is causing damage to you. The reason to write cease and desist letter can be anything that causes damages to you emotionally, monetary, and humiliates you in anyway.

Which mistakes you should avoid while writing cease and desist letter?

It is recommended to use a cease and desist letter template to write this letter because it saves you time. Don’t make mistakes while writing a cease and desist letter in order to protect your intellectual property. People usually make the following mistakes while making this letter;

Not hiring a lawyer

Asking someone to stop doing something that they do not allow to do is the main objective of this letter. You must hire professional people such as attorneys to write a cease and desist letter. These attorneys have capability to sound strict and deal with the procedure legally. You can frighten the offended party by a letterhead of a certified and credible attorney. If you don’t hire the attorney then the offending party may take serious action against you easily.

Making empty threats

Making empty threats means that your cease and desist letter is not worded strongly. It doesn’t contain what you really want to say. By receiving this letter, the recipient doesn’t take any action which indicates that you are making empty threats.

Not stating a clear reason in the letter

Make sure that you have a proper reason to send the letter. Your letter have to be very clear with claims and provide legal proceedings to infringers with proof. Here are the steps that you should go through in order to provide a clear reason in the letter;

The party who is destroying your intellectual property, you should do proper research about them.
You also have to do research about the history of potential violator lawsuits.
You also have to speak to the attorney seriously that in case alleged infringer does not respond to your letter then what will happen.

Not taking any steps to protect your property

You would have definitely take steps if you are serious about protecting your property. So, in order to register your intellectual property with the federal government, you have to take affirmative steps. In case, you don’t get your intellectual property register then the other party can claim that they have made it.

What to include in a cease and desist letter?

The cease and desist letter should include the following necessary information;

The complete name, address, and phone number of the sender.
You also have to indicate the name, address of the offending individual as well as the entity to whom the letter is being sent.
The date
The reason is the most important aspect you have to mention.
You have to provide a warning after mentioning the activity that needs to cease and desist. You should be open regarding warning. Also, you have to clearly state what action can be taken if they do not stop that activity.
To comply with the demand, the warning should be followed by a time limit. The time limit should be assigned as per the nature of the issue.

Using a Cease and desist letter:

You can use a cease and desist letter in the following 5 ways;

Harassment

There are different forms of harassment. These may include sexual harassment, bullying, or, threats. These forms of harassment can happen anywhere. Bullying and threats are those form of harassment usually occur in the workplace between an employee and a supervisor. You can document in a cease and desist what you have go through. When you take legal action against the threat, it can put a stop to the abuse.

Debt collection

Debt collection agencies are well-known for their harassing and illegal conduct. You may receive excessive phone calls, letters, etc. from these agencies. All these are considered as unlawful activities.

Every state has its own rules regarding how debt collectors should collect what is owed. When these laws aren’t followed then a Cease and Desist Letter send to a debt collector. Also, serious legal action can be taken in case the harassment does not stop.

Information relevant to the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act (FDCPA) is included in a debt collection Cease and Desist letter. If the debt collection agencies do not comply with the FDCPA then they may have to face significant penalties.

Trademark infringement

Powerful protection is provided to trademark because it is an important piece of intellectual property. You must protect a valid trademarks from use legally by other parties. Your brand is identified and your product is represented by it. A trademark infringement may lead to federal claims of trademark breaching. You can stop further trademark infringement by writing a Cease and Desist letter without filing a civil claim.

Copyright infringement

There is substantial value in guarding the copyright use when an entity or a person owns it to protected work. There is specific rights that are granted to a copyright holder under federal law. These include the following;

They are allow to sell and make copies of the protected work.
The right to make any derivative products on the basis of the original work.
They have legal rights to assign or sell legal rights to others to use the product.
They are allowed to perform or display copyrighted work publicly.

In case, any third party may breach these and other protected rights then they are violating federal copyright law. You can halt this third party’s unauthorized use of the product by writing a copyright infringement.

Defamation

When someone makes false and harmful statements about you or your company then defamation happens. These false statements damage your reputation so to prevent any future occurrences of such statements you should write a cease and desist letter. There are two primary categories of defamation occurrence;

Slander
Defamation

cease and desist letter restraining order

Sending a cease and desist letter:

You should send a cease and desist letter via certified mail in case you are drafting it yourself. You must have a return receipt in order to prove that the recipient has received your letter. This way, you will get peace of mind. Also, you become able to collect proof against the offending party if you are taking legal action.

Furthermore, your attorney can also send it via email or have it delivered in person. It doesn’t matter how you send it, you just have to keep your copy of the document and the return receipt.

What to do after sending a cease and desist letter?

You just have to wait for a response from the offending party after sending a Cease and Desist letter. In case, you have provided a deadline for response or whether you end the offending conduct then before taking further action, you must wait until this time has passed. However, it all depends on your circumstance that how long you should wait.

If you get a favorable response from the recipient then it might be possible to negotiate with the other party. But, if you receive an unfavorable response or your letter may get ignored, take legal action against the threat.

Conclusion:

In conclusion, you have to write a cease and desist letter when an entity and individual use or infringe your registered property. This letter assists you in taking action against them and warn them.

Grace Harry

Grace Harry is an experienced freelance writer with an experience for 12+ years. She got her Master’s in Financial Management degree from the University of Dennison in 2007. She worked at California State Bank to help clients with their credit, investments, and bank accounts. She likes to assist people in reaching their financial goals when it comes to financial planning.