A cease and desist letter is a warning to another person to stop whatever he or she is doing that violates your client’s rights. In most cases, you will use this type of letter when someone misuses your client’s intellectual property.
Regardless of the situation, The National Law Review explains that you want to be sure you include the required elements in the cease and desist letter for it to be as effective as possible. If you fail to write a strong letter, the other person may not take it seriously.
Professionalism
It is essential to ensure the letter looks professional. It should always be on legal letterhead. You want to sign it along with your client. An unprofessional letter will not get results as the other person may ignore it, thinking it is not real.
Basis
You need to be sure you have a valid legal basis upon which to write the letter. It is important to ensure whatever is happening is something that is illegal and that you can back up this letter by filing a lawsuit. You should never make baseless claims.
Communication
Finally, you need to make sure your client understands that after sending the letter, he or she cannot communicate with the other party. The letter is the first step in this legal process. Any communications outside of the process can lead to issues if you end up needing to take the case to court.
If you follow these general guidelines, your cease and desist letter should be effective. However, you need to be aware and let your client know that the potential for going to court still exists.