As a business owner, you don’t want to end up in court if you don’t have to. However, if another business or individual is doing something illegal that could harm your business, you have to take action.
Whether someone is libeling or defaming the business, using your intellectual property without permission or has violated a contract, you may be able to stop them through incremental measures short of litigation.
Cease and desist letter: A formal demand
This puts a party on notice that they’re doing something wrong. If they honestly didn’t realize that, they’ll likely stop. If they did know, it informs them that you’re aware of it and prepared to take further action. Either way, it helps you start to build a paper trail around the offense.
Often a cease and desist letter can put an end to these problems. It can also begin to build a paper trail that will help if future legal action is warranted because it puts the other party on notice that their actions are illegal.
A cease and desist letter should specify the violation(s) as well as how they’re negatively affecting your business. The letter should also inform the other party of what action you’re prepared to take if they don’t “cease and desist” immediately or (by a specified date) and respond by a given date.
A cease and desist letter isn’t an official legal document. However, it is more likely to be taken seriously and done properly with the appropriate legal guidance and assistance.
Cease and desist order: An official requirement
If the cease and desist letter doesn’t get the intended result, the next step is generally to seek a cease and desist order. This must be issued by a court or government agency – whichever is appropriate to the situation. That means you’ll need to provide evidence of the violation and the steps taken thus far to stop it.
These orders typically place an injunction on the violating party. This is a legal order to end their activities.
If none of this works and the other party can’t show that it’s not doing anything wrong, the only other option may be to take them to court. With legal guidance from the beginning, however, there’s less chance that you’ll end up there.
