what lawyer for a cease and desist letter

Full Answer

Can I Have my attorney serve a cease and desist?

If the issue continues or escalates in some fashion, prompting legal action, an attorney should be brought in to help serve a cease and desist order, which is a legal action issued by a court. Finally, although there is no specific outline of how long someone needs to give an offending party to stop their actions, a timeframe should still be included.

Can I send a cease and desist letter to someone?

If a person or a business is infringing upon your copyright, trademark or patent, you can send a cease and desist letter to inform the recipient about your rights and clear your intention to enforce your rights through appropriate legal means. Your letter may include a licensing offer and a threat of lawsuit.

Is it okay to ignore a cease and desist letter?

There’s no legal penalty or repercussion for ignoring a cease and desist, but you risk the sender beginning legal proceedings against you if their claims are legally sound. However, if you’re confident that the content of the letter is inaccurate or unenforceable, you can safely ignore a cease and desist letter.

What happens if a cease and desist letter is ignored?

What happens if you ignore a cease and desist? If you ignore it, the attorney who sent the letter will eventually file a lawsuit in federal court against you for trademark infringement and/or copyright infringement. This action may not happen right away. You might even think you are out of danger.

How much does it cost to send a cease and desist letter?

Hourly Rates for Cease-and-Desist Letters ContractsCounsel's marketplace data shows the average hourly rate for a cease-and-desist letter lawyer ranges from $200 - $350 per hour.

Can an individual write a cease and desist letter?

Anyone (whether the complaint is well-founded or not) can send out a cease and desist letter. However, there are reasons why you may want an attorney who specializes in copyright laws at least review your letter before sending it out.

What do I do if I get a cease and desist letter?

When you receive a cease and desist letter, your first step is to show it to an attorney. Depending on whether the letter is about trademark infringement, harassment, or defamation, you'll need either an intellectual property attorney, a criminal attorney, or a personal injury attorney.

What justifies a cease and desist?

Cease and desist letters, or notices, are used to notify an individual or organization of some kind that they are harassing or infringing on properties or ideas. These activities can include many different things like stalking, libel, slander, or any kind of copyright infringement.

Can a cease and desist letter be considered harassment?

A cease and desist harassment letter is a written document that demands the recipient stop a certain behavior immediately. This behavior is constituted as harassment in some way.

What happens if someone ignore a cease and desist?

If you ignore it, the attorney who sent the letter will eventually file a lawsuit in federal court against you for trademark infringement and/or copyright infringement. This action may not happen right away.

How do you stop a cease and desist order?

A cease and desist order is given by a judge to order a person to stop a certain act. Therefore, one must first petition the court and make a strong argument that the alleged offender's actions are in fact illegal—either in a criminal or civil manner.

Should I be scared of a cease and desist letter?

Either way you dice it, these letters can be very scary to a non-lawyer and should be given the utmost respect, at lease until you know for sure whether the claims in the letter are legally valid. That being said, a cease and desist letter has no legal significance.

Are cease and desist letters effective?

Because the consequence is often a lawsuit, a cease and desist letter can be an effective tool to stop someone from doing something that is damaging to you or your business, without having to incur the cost of litigation.

How long is a cease and desist order good for?

A cease and desist letter may serve to warn an offender that legal action may take place if they don't stop the activity. The offender is generally given a set time frame—usually 10 to 15 days—to cease and desist. A cease and desist letter must comply with laws in the jurisdiction in which it is sent.

Can you send a cease and desist text?

So sending a cease and desist text to someone to stop them texting you is not legally binding; you will have to follow up with possible legal action after being advised by a lawyer, or you can talk to a local LE officer or local prosecutor about the unwanted texts.

What is a cease and desist letter?

Updated May 14, 2019. A cease and desist letter is a legal notice sent to someone you believe is infringing on copyrights you own the rights to. The letter is your way of stopping them.

Can you work out a claim without going to court?

If your claim is small, chances are you can work things out without going to court. That recourse allows both parties to settle a dispute without bearing the expenses of lawyers and court fees.

Do you pay an attorney if she wins a verdict?

In that case, you only pay the attorney if she wins a verdict or obtains a settlement for you. An attorney can also advise you if your rights have, in reality, been violated and if so, if you have enough grounds for legal action. Also, an attorney can tell you if a cease and desist letter is the appropriate course of action, ...

Can civil claims be appealed?

Even if you get a verdict in your favor, the defendant may file an appeal and further extend the legal process.

Do I Have to Send a Letter, or Can I Just Sue Them?

You do not have to send a cease and desist letter prior to filing a civil claim against someone. However, if you are planning to sue someone on your own, doing so without first consulting with an attorney is not a sound option because you lack the legal know-how.

What is a cease and desist lawyer?

Whether you are dealing with debt, copyright or trademark infringement, general harassment like stalking, bullying or social media threats, breach of contract, or just a dispute with a previous partner or friend, the Cease & Desist Lawyers offer you the opportunity to outline to your adversarial partner that you will not allow them to continue threatening or infringing behavior.

How Can a Cease and Desist Letter Benefit Me?

Without a cease and desist letter, the individual or business has not been put on notice to stop any behavior. Without having the individual or business on notice, the unlawful behavior will likely continue which could cause harm to you or your company depending on...

What Happens if They Don’t Comply?

People tend to avoid litigation at all costs and typically comply when they receive a cease and desist letter. However, sometimes they fail to comply. When someone fails to comply with a cease and desist letter, there are a few options still available to have your...

How long does it take to get a cease and desist letter?

You will receive a rough draft of that letter within 24 hours of your consult…

Can a cease and desist lawyer review a document?

Yes. The Cease & Desist lawyers appreciate the opportunity to review relevant documents pertaining to the conflict or the infringement. Our website allows for the upload of these documents for review and dissemination…

Can an opposing party disregard your correspondence?

The opposing party will completely disregard your correspondence if you send it. They are aware that there is little, if anything, you can do to cease or desist their infringing behavior. However, the value of a lawyer writing this correspondence offers you the leverage and the teeth that other websites cannot.

Can you comply with a cease and desist letter?

People tend to avoid litigation at all costs and typically comply when they receive a cease and desist letter. However, sometimes they fail to comply. When someone fails to comply with a cease and desist letter, there are a few options still available to have your... read more. Contact Us.

Why do lawyers send these letters?

The most common reason someone sends a cease and desist letter is simple efficiency: a letter is simpler and cheaper than a lawsuit.

So What Should I Do If I Receive a Cease and Desist Letter?

There is no “one size fits all” answer to this question. If it turns out that the letter was sent by a trademark owner who was just trying to create a paper trail to avoid abandonment or genericide, it might be fine in some cases to ignore the letter.

How to end a cease and desist letter?

Upon completion of the letter drafting, the sender will want to send the cease and desist letter by certified mail.

What should a cease and desist letter state?

The letter should clearly state the writer’s intentions and requested action to be taken while being written in a gentle, yet firm, and respectable tone. Avoid empty threats. Similar to threatening a lawsuit upfront, do not make empty threats in your cease and desist letter.

What happens if you give a debt collector a cease and desist letter?

By providing the debt collector with a cease and desist letter, the harassing phone calls and abrupt visits to your home can be halted. Once a debt collector receives your letter, they can, legally, only contact you once more. This final contact can only be to explain that they are ceasing communication.

What is the first step in alleviating your problem?

However, all are encouraged to take the high road. How do you do that, though? A good first step in alleviating your problem is to consider a cease and desist letter.

What is a copyright letter?

Copyrights and trademarks give ownership of titles, names, logos, writings, books, music, etc. to the owner of the copyright or trademark. If a party is using your material without receiving your consent first, you may want to consider sending a cease and desist letter.

Is it cheaper to write a cease and desist letter?

As you can see, the cost factor between writing your own cease and desist letter is dramatically lower than using an attorney. However, depending on the situation, using an attorney and paying the costs will benefit in the long run.

Can a cease and desist letter be used as a first measure of action?

In some instances, a cease and desist letter may not be an appropriate first measure of action.

Why do you need a cease and desist letter?

Common reasons to use a desist and cease letter include: Intellectual property infringement: A cease and desist letter is often the first step in resolving a dispute over copyright, trademark, or patent infringement. Breach of contract: After you have entered ...

What is the difference between a cease and desist order and a letter?

It is important to note that a cease and desist order, also known as an injunction or restraining order, is different from a letter. As opposed to being sent by an individual or his attorney, an order is an official legally-binding document that is issued by a government agency or a court.

How to get a cease and desist order?

To obtain a cease and desist order, you must file a lawsuit or other paperwork with the court. The papers filed and the terminology used will differ depending on the circumstances and your state law. After the paperwork is filed, the other side will have an opportunity to respond, and the court will decide on the matter based on all ...

What happens if you don't reach a compromise?

If you are not able to reach a compromise, or if the letter and subsequent notices are ignored, the next step may be filing a lawsuit. Here you may be awarded damages for any harm caused by the activity, or have the court stop the activity through a cease and desist order.

What to do after giving the party time to respond?

After giving the party time to respond to or cease the activity, you should consider your next steps. The letter may only be the first step in resolving the conflict. If the party asserts he or she is not legally required to stop the activity, such as if there is a disagreement over whether or not a term of the contract has been breached, ...

What does it mean to send a letter to a court?

In addition, sending a letter provides evidence that the party had notice of the illegal behavior but continued to engage in it. In some cases, such as trademark infringement, this may allow you to collect additional money damages if you decide to bring the case to court.

How to preserve your rights?

To preserve your rights, you may include a statement that you are not waiving present or future rights to sue based on prior misconduct. Send the letter via certified mail, as this will provide a record that it was sent to the correct party.

What Is a Cease and Desist Letter?

It is simply a warning about illegal behavior that lets you know that further penalties could follow if the behavior, such as patent infringement, doesn't stop.

What is the difference between a cease and desist order and a cease and desist letter?

A cease and desist order is different from a cease and desist letter. The main difference is in terms of legality. Letters have almost no legal standing. Orders do. A cease and desist order is granted by a court. It serves as a temporary injunction.

What Are the Uses of a Cease and Desist?

There is a number of cases that might lead someone to issue a cease and desist. These include:

What Legal Weight Does a Cease and Desist Notice Have?

In practical terms, a cease and desist has no real legal weight. However, it fulfills an important function in the legal process. It establishes that you have told the offender about their violation. They now cannot claim they didn't know they were in violation.

Why Should I Be Cautious About Sending a Notice?

Issuing a cease and desist notice under the wrong circumstances can cause legal troubles for the sender. If there are threats involved in the letter, it can amount to extortion, blackmail or other crimes. In addition, if the violation turns out to be false, the party receiving the letter can sue for a judgement. They can declare that there is no violation and this can turn into its own defamation complaint.

What If I've Received a Demand Letter?

If you've received such a notice, the first thing to do is determine if it's real. Check for:

What is the first step to take to address these issues?

Engaging in illegal or suspicious activity that involves someone's work. The first step that you can take to address these issues is to send a cease and desist letter.

Why do you send a cease and desist letter?

You can also send a Cease and Desist Letter to stop someone from harassing or stalking you. It can help protect your privacy as well.

What does it mean to not comply with a cease and desist order?

Failing to comply with a cease and desist order means that the violator could pay civil fines or damages. In some cases, particularly those involving harassment, continuing harassing activities could result in jail time. To obtain a cease and desist order, you will need to follow state or local law to file the correct documents with the court. The process can be rather complicated and will frequently require presenting evidence to the court.

Do cease and desist letters have any legal force?

Cease and Desist Letters do not have any legal force beyond the threat of future legal action by the sender. Legal disputes can often be resolved, however, just by telling the recipient that you will assert your legal rights if they do not stop. They are, in many cases, the first and last attempt to resolve a legal dispute before filing a lawsuit.

Can you demand someone to stop talking about you?

You can demand that someone stop talking or writing about you if that communication is untrue and harms you, your reputation, or your business. While the letter does not have any legal authority, it demonstrates that you want the defamation or harmful communication stopped, and that you will take legal action if it is not. You may want to indicate why the statements are false in your Cease and Desist Letter, and demand damages if you have suffered financial losses or other harm.

What is a cease and desist letter?

A cease and desist letter is a letter you send to someone demanding they cease a certain behavior or activity that is harming you. A "cease and desist order" is an official order, handed down by a court, a judge or a governmental body. The two are very often confused.

Is a letter from an attorney a legal document?

A letter from an attorney is not a legal document in the sense that it can force a person to stop. The purpose of a letter from an attorney is to threaten legal action is the behavior or activity is not stopped - and therefore you would eventually pursue a cease and desist order and financial damages accordingly.