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Your business may be experiencing a commercial dispute with another company or individual. These can occur for different reasons, which range from contractual issues to intellectual property infringement. Nonetheless, these matters should be dealt with efficiently, as escalating the dispute to the courts can be expensive and time-consuming. One way to resolve the dispute early on is by sending a cease and desist letter. This article will explain some key points about cease and desist letters as a strategy for you to use as a business owner.
What is a Cease and Desist Letter?
A cease and desist letter is a specific type of letter that demands that the other party immediately stop carrying out unlawful activity. In general, its purpose is to warn the recipient about impending legal action if they do not do what it asks.
These letters are pre-action correspondence, meaning they are used before you resort to any potential litigation. As a result, you should send a cease and desist letter prior to, for example:
- suing for damages; or
- requesting an urgent injunction.
When Might I Use a Cease and Desist Letter?
As a business owner, there are a wide variety of matters you must pay attention to in operating commercially. This can leave you vulnerable to different types of harm that you may use a cease and desist letter to resolve. For instance, another business or individual may be negatively impacting your business by:
- using your copyrighted material as their own;
- infringing your trade marks;
- breaching confidentiality;
- making defamatory statements about you or your business; or
- instigating civil harassment, such as by giving you frequent unwanted contact through your social media.
With all of these issues, you can raise legal action as a pathway to take. However, a cease and desist letter would be an effective preliminary step.
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What Should I Say in a Cease and Desist Letter?
If you decide to use a cease or desist letter, you should contact an experienced lawyer to help you. Their expertise and knowledge can provide insight into the key issues that the letter should cover. Furthermore, legal advice can assist you in coming up with a clear dispute resolution strategy should the cease and desist letter fail. Importantly, when writing your letter, you should explain:
- what action you believe is unlawful;
- what you want the other party to do about it;
- a timeframe by which you want the other person or business to undertake the requested actions; and
- what will you do if they do not oblige.
For example, if another business has copied your registered logo, you may send a cease and desist letter notifying them that doing so is unlawful under trade mark law. The letter may also outline that, amongst other things, you wish for them to stop using the copied logo in their commercial operations by the end of the month. You may then warn them of legal action should they continue using the copied logo.
What Action Can My Cease and Desist Letter Ask For?
The action your cease and desist letter asks of the respondent can depend on your reason for sending it. For example, if another business is infringing your copyright, your letter may demand that they:
- give full details of their infringement, including the dates they sold products with infringing copyright;
- retain all infringing goods and prevent distributing them further;
- confirm net and gross profit of any sales they have made with the infringing material;
- undertake to publish a statement acknowledging that they have sold products that infringe your intellectual property rights;
- undertake not to in the future infringe your copyright; and
- pay damages or submit an account of profits.
This fact sheet outlines how your business can manage a dispute.
Key Takeaways
A legal strategy for you as a business owner in a commercial dispute is to issue a cease and desist letter. This is a letter requiring another business or person to stop alleged unlawful activity and not to do so in the future. The letter gives a serious warning that court action may be taken if they do not comply with the letter. It needs to be legally and factually correct, and therefore, a legal professional should help you to prepare the letter.
If you have further questions about sending cease and desist letters as a UK business owner, LegalVision’s experienced disputes and litigation solicitors can assist as part of our LegalVision membership. For a low monthly fee, you will have unlimited access to lawyers to answer your questions and draft and review your documents. Call us today on 0808 196 8584 or visit our membership page.
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