The Cease and Desist Letter that Won't Go Away

Every ExpertPreneur will learn over time that it is a common first step in the case of copyright or trademark infringement, and even for other claims like defamation, to send a cease and desist letter to the alleged wrongdoer in an effort to bring the offending conduct to a quick end.

Such letters are typically sent by attorneys and contain mild or not so mild threats of what will happen unless the terms of the letter are complied with.

In the past, these letters were mostly kept between the parties and their counsel but, with the advent of the Internet in general and Blogs in particular, the stakes have been raised.

Many a cease and desist letter writer has been surprised to see that their letter has not only been rejected, but posted online in an effort to hold the writer and his or her client to public opprobrium.

Now the stakes have been raised again when a law firm that sent a cease and desist letter took the position that the cease and desist letter itself was copyrighted and that publication of it on the Net could subject the recipient to law suit.

To be fair, this law firm has been the subject of so much negative publicity on this issue, I hesitate to name it since it's both easy to find and because I don't like to pile on unnecessarily.

To make a long story, that is still being played out, short, the threatened party obtained the services of consumer watch dog Public Citizen , whose litigation group has dared the law firm to assert its copyright and sue. Time will tell what happens but there is no doubt that the threatening law firm and its client have gotten less than the kind of publicity they would like.

But, for ExpertPreneurs, the lesson is simple. While cease and desist letters have their place and are important weapons for establishing notice to an infringer of their wrongful conduct, it is best to take care before unleashing your lawyers, to take into account the public relations aspects of your actions, and to make sure they're worded in a way that will get you to where you want to go and won't backfire.


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