A cease and desist letter is usually the first attempt to resolve an issue of intellectual property infringement. The sender will outline how they claim you have infringed on their intellectual property and will demand that you take down any instances of that infringement. They will then explain the next steps they will take should you fail to “cease and desist.”
For many who receive a cease and desist letter, it comes as a shock. You may not have been aware that you were infringing on someone’s intellectual property. For instance, if you hired a freelance artist to create your logo, you might not have realized that the freelance artist plagiarized someone else’s original art. Or you may not agree that what the IP holder says is infringement actually is infringement.
So what do you do next? We’ll walk you through the steps.
#1 – Contact Garcia-Zamor
The first thing you need to do is talk to our attorneys at Garcia-Zamor. Even if the cease and desist issue never goes anywhere, you’re going to want legal know-how to help you navigate this tricky situation. We have 20 years of combined experience in patent and trademark enforcement, so you can be confident that we’ll have your back.
Bring your cease and desist letter as well as any relevant evidence or documentation into a meeting with Garcia-Zamor. We’ll help you determine whether this cease and desist demand is something you need to push back against or not.
#2 – Determine Next Steps
If you need to in fact cease and desist, we’ll advise you, you will comply with the letter, and it stops there. If, however, there are more complex factors, we can advocate for you going forward. For instance, do you need to get your money back from a freelance artist who provided you with a plagiarized website art or logo? Do you need to contest the claim of IP infringement?
We will advise you and then take action based on the decision that you ultimately come to. We may draft a reply refuting the cease-and-desist. We may prepare to go to court to defend your use of the contested property.
#3 – Garcia-Zamor Gathers Evidence and Builds Your Case
Bring us any relevant documentation that you have, including any exchanges with an artist, previous interactions with the claimant, and so on. We can respond to the cease and desist letter, and attempt to work out the dispute amicably. If a resolution isn’t possible, we can defend you in court. Our goal is to ensure that you aren’t punished for an infringement that you did not commit or that was committed by another party without your knowledge. Our two decades of combined experience in IP law & patent and trademark litigation makes that possible.
Need help responding to a cease and desist letter? Garcia-Zamor has you covered. Contact us today to learn more about how we can assist you.
