A cease and desist letter is an allegation, not a court order. Your first job is to test the allegation before you answer it. Verify the claimed right on public registers, work out what it covers, then choose between responding, negotiating, challenging the right, or taking no action. Options and timing matter more than tone.
Key takeaways
- A letter is a demand; its deadline is the sender's, not the court's.
- Verify the claimed right: jurisdiction, status, owner, goods, and term before responding.
- Usual leverage points: US opposition runs 30 days after publication, EU opposition three months, and an idle Chinese trademark faces non-use cancellation after three consecutive years.
- Never admit liability, offer damages figures, or purge records while a dispute looms.
- Where court papers arrive instead of a letter, the window is commonly 14-21 days and silence can cost the held balance.
What is the letter actually asserting?
Strip the letter down to its parts: who is sending it and on whose behalf, which right they claim, the registration or application number if one is given, the territory, the specific acts you are told to stop, the deadline they demand, and any attached request for money. Every one of those items is testable. The adjectives are not.
Note what is missing. A letter that cites a right without a number, or claims a US registration without any use behind it, has left its weakest point visible on the page. Do not answer substance you cannot verify.
How do I verify the claimed right?
Look the number up in the granting office's public register. Confirm the right exists, that the recorded owner matches the sender, and that it is live rather than expired: terms run 10 years from filing, and keeping them alive through renewal is the owner's own obligation. A US pending application is not a registration, and an EU trademark has had no UK effect since Brexit.
Then check coverage, because letters routinely stretch it. A trademark protects the goods it is registered for; a design right protects appearance, not function. The gap between what is claimed and what is registered is the most common defect, and the first thing any good response will address.
| Claimed right | What to verify | Typical weak point |
|---|---|---|
| US trademark | Status, owner, goods on the US register | A Section 8 use declaration falls due between years 5 and 6 |
| EU trademark | Owner and goods across the 27 member states | Unitary structure: one successful attack can affect the whole right |
| Chinese trademark | First-to-file record and registration date | Three consecutive idle years invite non-use cancellation |
| Design right | Term and whether the product matches | US designs run 15 years from grant; EU designs renew up to 25 years |
What are my response options and how much time is there?
There are usually four doors. Respond substantively, with evidence and a stated position. Negotiate scope, a licence, or coexistence. Challenge the right itself: if a US application cited in the letter is freshly published, a 30-day opposition window is open; if it is registered, invalidation may be the cleaner route; if the claim rests on a Chinese registration idle for three consecutive years, non-use cancellation is the standard attack on the China route.
The fourth door is no action, reserved for letters with nothing verifiable behind them. The sender's demanded deadline is not the court's, and missing it does not bind you by itself, though it may accelerate their next move.
What should I never admit in writing?
Never admit liability, never float a damages figure, and never describe your own sales in a way that concedes the contested question. Anything written can be quoted back later. Keep any reply factual and about the record: what you sell, since when, and under what rights of your own.
Preserve rather than purge. Listing history, supplier records, and original images matter more after a letter arrives than before it, and deleting them only helps the other side. Misrepresenting your use in a reply is worse than silence, because registers and platform records can be checked against claims. When the position is unclear, say so through counsel and get case-specific advice.
When does silence become expensive?
Silence is cheap against a letter built on a defective record, and expensive the moment the paper is actually court process. If a TRO accompanies the demand, response deadlines commonly run 14-21 days, and where no party appears, default judgment follows with the held balance transferred rather than negotiated. Our TRO response guide covers that branch of the decision tree.
Silence also ages badly if your own record has gaps. Use the quiet period to confirm your renewals and use declarations are on track, so a fight does not end with you losing your own rights by inattention. If you want the letter's claims checked and an answer drafted, our services cover both.
Frequently asked questions
Do I have to answer in court because of a letter?
No. A letter is a demand, not a proceeding. It becomes a court problem only if the sender files suit or obtains an order, which changes the deadlines entirely. Ignoring a letter does not create a judgment against you, though it can raise the temperature of what follows. Your response is a strategy choice, and it should come after verification.
Their mark is registered. Does that end the discussion?
Not necessarily. A registration proves a record, not the scope of the argument. Check whether the registered goods match what you sell, whether the owner on the register is the sender, and whether the right is live: terms run 10 years from filing, and renewals and use declarations are ongoing obligations. Where the record is solid, the conversation moves to scope instead of validity.
Can I attack their right instead of defending mine?
Sometimes, and timing decides it. If their US application was recently published, a 30-day opposition window is open. If it is already registered, invalidation proceedings may be available. If it is a Chinese trademark idle for three consecutive years, non-use cancellation is the standard route. These are real tactics with real work behind them; weigh them with case-specific advice.
How long do I actually have to respond?
For a letter, only the deadline the sender demands, since it is not the court's. For any attached court document, read the stated window and act inside it, because seller orders commonly run 14-21 days. Use the gap to verify the claim and tidy your own record. If you want that done quickly, start from the contact page.