Send a warning of legal action: Cease and Desist Letter

In general, a Cease and Desist Letter requests that a specific action stop or discontinue immediately. A Cease and Desist Letter can be used to cover a wide variety of issues, from personal to business needs. A few examples are discussed below.  

Trademark violation

A Cease and Desist Letter can be a good way to inform an individual or business that they are unlawfully using your intellectual property. It not only informs them that what they are doing is in violation of your rights, but it also lets them know that you intend to enforce your copyright or trademark if they do not stop.

A trademark violation occurs when someone else uses a trademark (or service mark) without permission. Using someone else’s trademark might lead to deception or confusion, which is exactly what legal protections for intellectual property are supposed to prevent.

Technically, a trademark does not need to be registered to have legal protections, but it certainly helps. Registering your trademark allows you to prove that you used the trademark first.

Infringement 

Infringement is a term often used in association with a trademark or other copyrighted material violation. To “infringe” on someone else’s intellectual property usually means that someone else is using it without permission. Essentially, violation of intellectual property rights and copyright or trademark infringement are used interchangeably.

 You might be able to get monetary damages if you can prove that your intellectual property rights were violated. These damages could include things like loss of business, damage to reputation, and more.

 A Cease and Desist Letter is often the first step to requesting a court order for someone to stop infringing on your intellectual property rights. These court orders are called “injunctions” or a “Cease and Desist Order.” This type of order essentially escalates the situation so that the court can issue certain punishments if the copyright or trademark is still violated. Punishments could include fines or even jail time in some circumstances.

Defamation of character

A Cease and Desist Letter can be helpful to warn someone else about a potential libel, slander, or defamation of character claim. These claims are all associated with making false and damaging written or oral claims about a person or business. As long as the statements are not true, they can fall into the broad category of defamation of character, including libel or slander.

Writing claims on social media is a huge concern today. Those statements might trigger a legal claim against someone else for libel, which are written statements about someone or something else that is damaging and untrue.

A Cease and Desist Letter asks the person (or entity) making the statements to stop before you start a lawsuit. Keep in mind, however, that you must have provable damages based on defamation of character, libel, or slander to have a legal claim for damages in these situations.

Defamation damages can be virtually anything, from losing business to not getting a loan at a local bank. In some situations, damages might include embarrassment, humiliation, and emotional distress.

Talk to an attorney for more information about whether you might have a claim for defamation of character, libel, or slander. 

Harassment over fraudulent credit card charges 

Fraudulent credit card charges often occur because someone else used your credit card without your permission. This could be a third-party hacker or someone you know, like a friend or relative. At the end of the day, if you did not charge a credit card, you should not have to pay for those charges.

Unfortunately, proving that you did not charge a credit card can be difficult. In some situations, the process to dispute charges and refund your money can be long and time-consuming.

While you are disputing a charge, the credit card company or another third-party (often the business or individual who received the charged funds) might reach out to you to try to collect. This type of contact is inappropriate in most circumstances.

You can use a Cease and Desist Letter to address this type of situation. The letter will ask that the contact stop and provide additional details about the fraudulent charges. It will also often cite the federal laws regarding unfair debt collection practices and set out that you intend to assert a claim if the contact does not stop.

Harassment due to nonpayment of debts 

Debt collectors sometimes engage in some unethical practices that border on harassment or might outright be harassing. They might call, text, or even make in-person visits to your home or workplace. While federal laws are supposed to prevent this type of action, that does not always happen unless you act.

You can use a Cease and Desist Letter to formally request that debt collectors stop trying to contact you. Once you send this letter, debt collectors are required by federal law to stop contacting you.

If they continue to reach out to you, you might have a claim for violating federal consumer protection laws. Violation of these laws might impose monetary damages or fines. Talk to an attorney about your options if this type of situation applies to you. 

Personal disputes with neighbors, landlords, roommates, etc. 

You can use a Cease and Desist Letter for virtually any violation of your rights that might be occurring. They are commonly used to assert property rights.

Real Property Disputes

Imagine you have a tree that is on your property, but your neighbor thinks it is their tree and keeps cutting it shorter than you would like. In that type of situation, you can send a Cease and Desist Letter to your neighbor explaining that you do not want them to cut your tree moving forward.

Of course, talking the issue through with your neighbor might be a better way to address the dispute. However, if they are ignoring you or not responding to you, the next step might be to send a Cease and Desist Letter.

Personal Property Disputes

As a tenant, you might also want to use a Cease and Desist Letter for issues with your landlord or roommates. Disputes regarding personal property commonly arise in these situations. If, for instance, your landlord or roommate keeps using your grill in the yard for personal use without permission, a Cease and Desist Letter might be appropriate.

Again, it is likely a good idea to have a conversation with your roommate or landlord about the issue first. However, a Cease and Desist Letter might be a good next step to address the issue if you are being ignored. 

Breach of contract

If you and another person or entity have a contract together, you likely want to take action to stop them from violating that contract. A Cease and Desist Letter can provide a good “warning” to the other party before you start legal action for breach of contract.

The most common example is in the employment context. Imagine your business has a non-compete agreement with an employee that lasts for two years after they are terminated or leave their employment. Your employee was terminated a few months ago, but you find out they are working for a competitor in violation of your non-compete agreement.

In this situation, you could send a Cease and Desist Letter to your prior employee to request that they stop violating their non-compete agreement. You might also want to send one to their new employer to alert the new employer that they might also be liable for helping that employee violate their contract.

A Cease and Desist Letter might be useful for any type of ongoing contract obligation as well. 

Harassment, stalking, and other invasions of privacy

You can sometimes use a Cease and Desist Letter to address concerns about harassment, stalking, and other invasions of privacy.

For instance, imagine your neighbor has a flood light that they turn on at night while they know you are in the hot tub in your yard—and this is the only time they ever turn it on. If their actions make you uncomfortable, it might make sense to ask that they cease and desist this type of unwelcome behavior.

Situations involving harassment and stalking can be very sensitive. Sending a Cease and Desist Letter might only make matters worse. If you are concerned about your safety or well-being, talk to the legal authorities in your area about your options. You might be able to ask the appropriate authorities to file criminal charges for harassment or stalking, which could be more effective than using a Cease and Desist Letter.

When using a Cease and Desist Letter, you may want to be prepared to take the necessary follow-up steps if the violating party does not stop the actions outlined in the letter. Failure to follow through can hurt your chances of success in a lawsuit or other action down the road. Reach out to a Rocket Lawyer network attorney if you have questions about how to proceed with a Cease and Desist Letter.