Attention:
Re: Trademark Infringement
Dear Sir or Madam:
It has come to our attention that your business,
Our Trademark provides us with certain proprietary rights, including the right to monitor and restrict the unauthorized use of our Trademark, or confusingly similar trademarks, in association with non-Company products or services. We must exercise this right to protect the value of both our Trademark and of our business. Our Trademark signifies the high quality of products and services offered by the Company and indicates to our customers and to the consuming public that all of our goods and services come from a single source. As such, it contributes substantially to the goodwill and value of the Company. Federal law supports our position that confusingly similar trademarks may cause undesirable confusion in the public. This confusion may in this instance cause material and irreparable harm to our Trademark by eroding the distinct association among our Trademark, our products and services, and the Company. Your actions constitute trademark infringement and unfair competition under both state and federal law, including the Lanham Act (15 U.S.C. §§1051-1127). Remedies for such infringement can include payment of actual and treble damages, recovery of profits, reimbursement of attorney's fees, and may also include injunctions against your further use of the Infringing Trademark and the seizure of infringing materials.
We respectfully request that you immediately discontinue any use of the Infringing Trademark in association with the marketing, sale, distribution, or identification of your products or services. Please respond to us in writing within
| Sincerely, |
| ________________________________________ |
How-to guides, articles, and any other content appearing on this page are for informational purposes only, do not constitute legal advice, and are no substitute for the advice of an attorney.
Trademark cease and desist letter: How-to guide
You’ve started a business, established a brand name, and built a strong reputation for quality and service.
Unfortunately, your competitors may not be willing to let you walk away with a strong market position. In some cases, those companies may want to cash in on the hard work that you’ve put into growing your business, using a brand name or symbol that looks enough like yours to cause confusion among your customers and the public at large.
Your trademark is your marketplace signature, an indicator that your company produced the items for sale and a promise that those items will meet the quality standards you’ve worked to establish.
If another company or individual attaches a similar mark to their goods or services, it’s akin to a forgery, using your ‘signature’ to obtain customers. Or it can act as proof that their products have the same quality as yours. This forgery won't only cause an immediate decrease in your sales by siphoning purchasers to a different company’s merchandise but will cause a long-run decrease as well, as the power of your brand can be diluted by association with lesser quality goods.
By law, you must challenge any infringement or unauthorized use of your trademark. In other words, to keep your trademark, you have to defend it by sending a cease and desist letter.
Detailed instruction list to create a cease and desist letter
1. Know your rights regarding your trademark
Even if your trademark is registered with your state or with the United States Patent & Trademark Office (USPTO), you don't have rights to that mark until you have actually used it in your business.
You can make any legal claim to your trademark or intellectual property only when you use it in your company letters, office spaces, business cards, etc.
Protecting your trademark isn’t limited to guarding against infringement. You must continue to use that trademark in your business. The law won't protect your rights in an unused trademark.
2. Examine the mark that the other party is using
Examine the mark you think is infringing on your trademark. It must be confusingly similar to yours and used in a related product area.
For example, you may own “John’s Body Works” for your car company, but you might have a hard time proving that a beauty salon with the same name would confuse your customers.
3. Ensure your trademark is solely your intellectual property before you pursue legal action
Make sure you are the actual trademark owner before you start filing for a cease and desist letter.
Do you have priority rights in this mark?
Did you start using it in connection with your business before the other company did?
Confirm that you aren't the infringing party before leveling any accusations.
4. Check the tone and language style
The language of cease and desist letters should be adapted to fit the specific instance of trademark infringement you’ve experienced. If a small company is just starting out and hasn't invested time or money into its mark, consider tempering the language of the letter.
If a direct competitor is clearly and aggressively infringing on your mark, consider making the language more forceful. In some cases, a simple phone call might be a good starting point too.
5. Send a cease and desist letter for unregistered trademark
You can send out a cease and desist letter even if you haven’t registered your trademark with the USPTO. However, you may be able to defend your unregistered mark only within certain geographic parameters.
If your trademark isn't registered, send a sample of your mark with the cease and desist letter. If your trademark is registered, attach a copy of your USPTO registration.
6. Keep all the trademark and copyright infringement documents organized
All of your correspondence with infringing companies and individuals should be kept in an organized and accessible file.
If the infringement continues, this will show your vigilant defense of your trademark and will provide evidence that the other company was intentionally infringing after receiving notice.
7. Act timely to defend your protected work
Be prepared to take additional steps if the company doesn’t respond and/or continues to use the infringing materials. Failure to act in a reasonable period is called “acquiescence,” and could lead to limitation or termination of your trademark rights.
Key provisions of a trademark cease and desist letter
The following provisions will help you understand the terms of your cease and desist letter.
1. Details of the infringing party
Insert the name of the person at the infringing company to whom you think this letter should be addressed. If you don't know the actual name of this person, insert a title (for example, President, Chief Executive Officer, or General Counsel).
2. Attaching relevant trademark copies
When you send a cease and desist letter, you need to attach a sample of your trademark if you haven't registered it.
If your company has registered its trademark, then you have to attach a copy of the USPTO registration to the letter. Add your trademark registration number too in the letter.
3. Response time other parties can take
You can increase or decrease the time frame within which the infringing party must respond to you.
4. Contact information for response
If you have requested a written response, you must provide an address (either physical or e-mail) to which this response can be sent.
A company that uses a cease and desist letter can protect the brand it has worked so hard to build. If additional legal action needs to be taken, you can demonstrate your vigilant defense of the trademark and provide the documentation needed to protect your business from future dilution and infringement.
Draft cease and desist letters with LegalZoom template
In case your competitor is using a mark similar to your online website, make them stop using your site’s mark by sending them a domain name cease and desist letter.
Creating a professional, straightforward cease-and-desist letter could be fast-tracked if you use a cease-and-desist letter template. Even though there are multiple online service providers who provide sample cease and desist letters, only a few give them for free. LegalZoom offers a comprehensive, well-structured, and easy-to-use cease and desist letter template for free. All you have to do is:
- Scroll to the top of this page
- Create your document using this template
- Answer the guided questionnaire
- Complete the document
LegalZoom also provides you with different other templates of letters that you can use for various scenarios in your business.
Frequently asked questions
What’s a trademark cease and desist letter?
Your trademark is your marketplace signature, a promise to customers about the quality they can expect from your company. So when business rivals infringe on your brand, you must take the necessary measures. The right way to protect your brand from unscrupulous competitors begins with sending a trademark cease and desist letter.
What key details should you know while creating your cease and desist letter?
Here's the information you'll need to have handy to complete your trademark cease and desist letter:
- Who it's going to: Make sure to have the name of the company or individual infringing on your trademark
- Pertinent details: Have your USPTO trademark registration number ready (if you have one) and the number of days you want to give the receiver to respond
Is it a good idea to send a cease and desist letter?
Cease and desist letters help you get what is rightfully yours. Of course, you know your industry and competitors better than anyone else: this may be an intentional appropriation or an honest mistake.
Delaying to send a cease and desist letter may sometimes work in favor of the infringing party. Hence, it’s a good idea to take legal action as soon as you find out about the infringement.
Cease and Desist Letter - Free Template
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Domain Name Cease and Desist Letter
Safeguard your domain name effectively. Use a domain name cease and desist letter to assert your rights, preserve your brand, and prevent unauthorized domain usage.