How to Write a Cease and Desist Letter to a Website Owner
A cease and desist letter is probably one of the least enjoyable aspects any internet based business owner may have to face. However if someone is copying your content and committing copyright infringement or trademark infringement, it is the first step (and hopefully the last) you’ll have to take to protect yourself and your business.
Fortunately, a cease and desist letter is something that is quite common, there are actually templates available for free online. Another option is to hire an attorney to write and deliver one. It is important to note that you cannot bring legal action against a website unless the works they are copying have a registered copyright. You do not need to register a copyright on content for it to be copyrighted however you do have to register it to pursue legal action. However, a cease and desist letter can be delivered before the copyright has been registers. You just can’t sue them until your content is registered
So how do you write a cease and desist letter? What must it contain to cover all the legal basis and hopefully motivate the offending website to stop their illegal practices?
Here’s an example of a Cease and Desist letter.
Jan Smith
Owner
WWW.StopCopyingmycontent.com
1234 Paradise Road.
Paradise, TX 00000
RE: Illegal use of copyrighted content posted on your website.
Dear _________,
It has come to our attention that you are copying entire pages from our website at www.stopcopyingmycontent.com and publishing them on your own website, www.wecopycontent.com. This is in direct breach of our rights under International Copyright Law.
You have 30 Days to remove all offending content listed below. Failing this, we will apply for an injunction, and will seek to recover costs and damages for your acts and conduct.
Respectfully,
Jan Smith.
As you can see from the example, the letter needs to cover the complaint, list the offense specifically including a link or reference to the copied content, and also give a specific request. In this case it was to give them 30 days to remove all content. While cease and desist letters are not much fun to write, they’re a heck of a lot easier than taking legal action against a company for copyright infringement. Take the time to write a professional and thorough letter to avoid any future legal actions. Good luck!