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A cease and desist letter prepared by a lawyer is usually billed either as a flat fee or at the attorney’s hourly rate, and the cost depends mainly on how much investigation the claim requires, not on the length of the letter. A cease and desist letter is not a court order and does not, by itself, legally require you to do anything. But it is not automatically a scare tactic: a well-supported letter is often the step right before a lawsuit, and ignoring one can make a dispute more expensive.
Here is what a cease and desist letter is, how lawyers typically charge for one, how to tell posturing from a real threat, and what to do if one lands on your desk.
A cease and desist letter is a private written demand. It identifies rights the sender claims (a trademark, a copyright, a contract, or the sender’s reputation), describes conduct the sender says violates those rights, and demands that the recipient stop, often by a deadline and under threat of legal action.
It is not a lawsuit, an injunction or a judgment. No court has reviewed it, and there is no penalty for the letter itself going unanswered. It is also different from a DMCA takedown notice, which is sent to a platform or service provider rather than to the person accused. What a letter does do is create a record that you were put on notice of the claim, and that record can matter later.
Law firms generally use one of two fee structures for cease and desist letters:
Some firms quote the letter separately from any follow-up negotiation; others bundle a round of response and negotiation into the engagement. Ask before you hire. The main factors that drive cost are:
A template letter costs less, but an overreaching or poorly supported demand can backfire. The same is true in reverse: if you received a letter, the cost of having counsel evaluate and respond to a cease and desist letter follows the same flat-fee or hourly models and depends on how contested the claim is.
Sometimes. Some letters are sent to intimidate, with no real intention of filing suit. Others are sent by parties who are fully prepared to litigate. The letter’s content usually offers clues.
Signs a letter may be posturing:
Signs a letter is a real precursor to litigation:
Even a letter that looks like posturing can rest on a legitimate claim. The question is not how aggressive the tone is, but whether the underlying claim holds up.
Ignoring a letter does not make the claim go away, and it can change how a court views your conduct. Continuing the challenged activity after receiving notice can be used to argue that any infringement was willful. That matters because remedies escalate. Under the Copyright Act, 17 U.S.C. § 504(c) sets statutory damages of $750 to $30,000 per work infringed, and a court may increase that to as much as $150,000 per work for willful infringement. Under the Lanham Act, 15 U.S.C. § 1117(a) allows recovery of the defendant’s profits and damages, which a court may increase up to three times actual damages, and attorney’s fees in exceptional cases; for counterfeit marks, statutory damages can reach $2,000,000 per counterfeit mark per type of goods or services when the use is willful.
A letter can also cut the other way. Under the Declaratory Judgment Act, 28 U.S.C. § 2201, a federal court may declare the rights of parties in a case of actual controversy. A specific threat of litigation can give the recipient grounds to file first and ask a court to declare that it does not infringe, and in MedImmune, Inc. v. Genentech, Inc., 549 U.S. 118 (2007), the Supreme Court held that a patent licensee did not have to break its license before seeking that kind of declaration. Senders should expect that a letter threatening suit may prompt one, possibly in a forum they did not choose.
California’s anti-SLAPP statute, Code of Civil Procedure § 425.16, affects both sides of a cease and desist dispute. It allows a defendant to file a special motion to strike a claim arising from protected speech or petitioning activity, including statements made in connection with an issue under consideration by a judicial body. The motion is generally due within 60 days of service of the complaint, the plaintiff must show a probability of prevailing, and a prevailing defendant generally recovers attorney’s fees and costs.
California appellate courts have treated prelitigation communications, such as demand letters, as protected when they relate to litigation contemplated in good faith and under serious consideration, as in Neville v. Chudacoff. That means a lawsuit based on the contents of someone’s demand letter may face an anti-SLAPP motion. And if your letter targets someone’s online speech about a matter of public interest, a later lawsuit may face the same challenge. Our post on internet defamation and anti-SLAPP laws discusses that risk.
A trademark letter should identify the mark, its registration or common law basis, the goods or services involved, and why the recipient’s use is likely to cause confusion. Because trademark owners who fail to police their marks can weaken them, many trademark letters are routine enforcement rather than a prelude to a lawsuit, but the counterfeit remedies above show why they should not be dismissed. See our post on trademark infringement cease and desist letters.
A copyright letter should identify the specific works at issue and the copying complained of. If the material is hosted online, the sender may also use the DMCA takedown process with the platform, which carries its own liability for knowing misrepresentations under 17 U.S.C. § 512(f).
Defamation letters typically demand a retraction or removal of specific statements. They need to address whether those statements are false factual assertions rather than opinion. Businesses should be especially careful with letters aimed at customer reviews: the FTC’s rule at 16 C.F.R. § 465.7 prohibits using an unfounded or groundless legal threat to prevent a negative consumer review or to get one removed.
Lawyers typically charge for a cease and desist letter either as a flat fee, which is common for straightforward trademark or copyright matters, or at an hourly rate when the facts are disputed or the letter is part of a larger strategy. Cost depends on how much investigation and legal analysis the claim requires, the number of parties involved, and whether follow-up negotiation is included.
Some are, but many are not. Vague rights, boilerplate language and threats of huge damages without a stated basis can suggest posturing. Letters that identify specific registrations or works, attach evidence, make a clear demand and ask you to preserve documents often signal that the sender is prepared to sue. Either way, the strength of the underlying claim matters more than the tone.
A cease and desist letter is not a court order, so there is no legal penalty for the letter itself going unanswered. But ignoring it can be risky. Continuing the challenged conduct after notice can support an argument that infringement was willful, which can increase damages. Having counsel evaluate the claim lets you decide whether to comply, negotiate or push back.
Yes. A specific threat of litigation can give the recipient grounds to file a declaratory judgment action first. In California, a lawsuit over online speech may face an anti-SLAPP motion with fee shifting. And under 16 C.F.R. § 465.7, businesses may not use unfounded or groundless legal threats to prevent or remove negative consumer reviews. A well-supported, proportionate letter reduces these risks.
The letter itself works the same way, but California’s anti-SLAPP statute, Code of Civil Procedure § 425.16, raises the stakes. California appellate courts have treated demand letters sent in anticipation of litigation contemplated in good faith as protected activity, and a defendant who wins an anti-SLAPP motion generally recovers attorney’s fees. Senders and recipients should both consider that exposure before escalating.
Whether you are sending a cease and desist letter or deciding what to do about one you received, the cost of getting the analysis right up front is usually far lower than the cost of a dispute that escalates because the letter overreached or went unanswered.
The attorneys at Revision Legal handle trademark infringement, copyright and internet defamation disputes, including preparing and responding to cease and desist letters. Contact us through the form on this page or call (855) 473-8474.
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