CEASE AND DESIST

'Cease and desist' (also called 'C & D') is a United States legal term essentially meaning "to halt" or "to end". It is used to demand that a person or organization stop doing something ("cease") and not do it again in the future ("desist").
The term is used in two different contexts. A cease-and-desist order can be issued by a judge or government authority, and has well-defined legal meaning. A cease-and-desist letter can be sent by anyone, although typically they are drafted by a lawyer.

Contents

Cease-and-desist letters

Criticism

Court orders

Administrative agencies

See also

External links

Cease-and-desist letters

A cease-and-desist letter is a letter demanding that the recipient refrain from a certain behavior or else face legal action. Some types of behaviors that may prompt such letters include:

★ Stalking or other forms of harassment

★ Property, neighborhood, and boundary disputes

★ Copyright infringement or trademark infringement

★ Libel or slander
In the case of stalking and harassment, the letter usually demands that the recipient cease the threatening behavior or else face criminal charges.
In the case of property and boundary disputes, the letter demands that the recipient cease activity that negatively impacts neighbors - for example, holding loud parties late at night, leaving a dog outside to bark all day, cutting down trees that stand on public or jointly owned land, or building a fence that infringes on someone else's property.
In the case of copyright or trademark infringement, libel, and slander, the letter typically threatens a civil lawsuit if the recipient continues the undesired activity. It is similar in form, although not in function, to a demand letter, which alerts the recipient to a pending claim for money damages, usually as a result of a tort or a breach of contract.
In the US, a recipient of a cease-and-desist letter who is placed in a "reasonable apprehension" of litigation may respond through a request for declaratory judgment proceeding in his own jurisdiction.

Criticism

There have been criticisms from civil liberties and free speech groups that cease-and-desist letters may be used by wealthy individuals and corporations to bully their less-monied opponents into silence, as many people will comply with even an unjustified cease-and-desist letter due to their unwillingness or inability to engage in an expensive lawsuit.

Court orders

A cease-and-desist order is an order from a judge or government ordering a halt to an illegal activity. This prohibition is sometimes done as the outcome of a trial, in which case it is a permanent injunction against the activity, and sometimes done as an emergency measure to prevent possibly irreparable harm, in which case it takes the form of a temporary injunction. An injunction against speech issued before it occurs (e.g. preventing a pending publication) is called ''prior restraint''.

Administrative agencies

Many government administrative agencies also have the ability to issue cease and desist orders. Government agencies frequently issue cease and desist orders to halt the sale of unregistered or fraudulent securities, to halt unsafe banking practices, and to enforce licensing statutes. Frequently, these orders will contain a period of time for the subject of the order to request a hearing. If a hearing is not requested, the cease and desist order will become final and the agency will be able to enforce its order in a court of law.

See also

★ Strategic lawsuit against public participation (SLAPP)

★ Chilling Effects

External links

★ Chillingeffects.org - A joint project between the Electronic Frontier Foundation and several universities to monitor uses and abuses of intellectual property rights on the internet. Contains a database of cease-and-desist letters to which either senders or recipients can contribute.

★ Fair Use Network - An informational resource for recipients of cease and desist letters.

★ Google Begins Making DMCA Takedowns Public - Popular search engine Google now responds to ''cease and desist'' orders in cooperation with Chilling Effects [1].

★ Legal threats against The Pirate Bay - Popular bittorrent tracker The Pirate Bay publishes ''cease and desist'' letters sent from certain companies and their responses.

★ How to write a Cease & Desist Letter from the University of Texas System - A template for writing your own cease & desist letters.