A cease-and-desist letter in your inbox or by email — for many people, that’s a shock. Anyone who doesn’t react correctly straight away risks substantial follow-on costs.
The cease-and-desist letter: take it seriously
A copyright cease-and-desist letter is a serious legal warning. It demands that you stop a particular behaviour — for instance the unauthorised use of a photo, a graphic or a text on your website. Anyone who ignores such a letter risks a preliminary injunction, court proceedings and significantly higher costs.
The most common mistakes after receiving a cease-and-desist letter
- Leaving the letter unanswered or ignoring it
- Signing a pre-formulated cease-and-desist undertaking unchecked
- Commenting publicly on the content (e.g. on social media)
- Negotiating with the sender on your own
What you should do immediately
Stop the challenged use without delay — remove the relevant image, text or file from your website. This prevents further damage from accumulating. After that: get legal advice before signing any documents or making any payments.
The enclosed cease-and-desist undertaking is particularly delicate: it is usually drafted in favour of the sender and often contains overly broad declarations.
A signed cease-and-desist undertaking is binding — and cannot be withdrawn unilaterally.
A modified cease-and-desist undertaking as the solution
A cease-and-desist undertaking drafted by counsel — modified to limit the obligation to the conduct actually challenged — sets a proportionate contractual penalty and preserves room for similar future uses. It eliminates the so-called risk of repetition without you taking on excessive obligations.
This article is for general information and does not constitute legal advice in any specific case.
