Trademark Cease and Desist Letters: Sending One and Responding to One in California

Last updated: November 2026

A trademark cease and desist letter is a private demand, not a court filing. It tells the recipient to stop using a name, logo, or design, usually within a stated number of days, and often asks for an accounting of sales. Sending one is normally the first step before a Lanham Act suit in California, and receiving one does not mean you are liable. It does mean the clock is running. Kolmogorov Law, P.C. drafts and answers these letters for Orange County and Los Angeles businesses.

Call (909) 235-6116 or contact us online to discuss sending or answering a trademark cease and desist letter.

What a trademark cease and desist letter does, and what it does not

The letter puts the recipient on notice of the sender's rights and demands. Nothing in it binds a court. The recipient is not required to answer, and the deadline in the letter is the sender's, not the law's.

What the letter does change is knowledge. A defendant who keeps using a mark after a credible notice has a harder time arguing innocent adoption. Willfulness is also a factor courts weigh when deciding whether to enhance damages or award attorney fees in an exceptional case under the Lanham Act. (15 U.S.C. § 1117(a).) California's trademark statute goes further for state registrations. Once a written demand with the registration certificate and a sworn statement is delivered by courier, personal delivery, or certified mail, a person who continues to assist the infringer is presumed to act knowingly. (Bus. & Prof. Code, § 14245, subd. (a)(3).) That provision can reach suppliers and marketplaces that assist the sale. A companion paragraph reaches a landlord who controlled the premises and knew, or had reason to know, of the activity. (Bus. & Prof. Code, § 14245, subd. (a)(5).)

When to send one

Send the letter when you have a mark you can prove, a use you can document, and a goal you can state. The goal is usually one of three: stop the use entirely, stop it in a defined market or product line, or convert the user into a licensee. Decide which before the letter goes out, because the tone follows the goal.

Do not send one when your own priority is shaky. A letter invites the recipient to investigate you, and a recipient who used the name first may turn the letter into a petition to cancel your registration. Our page on proving trademark infringement explains what the sender must be able to show.

What to put in the letter

Identify the mark and the basis for your rights: registration number and date, or first use and the evidence of it. Show the recipient's use with dated screenshots or photos. Explain the likelihood of confusion in a paragraph, not a brief. State the demands: stop by a date, destroy or relabel inventory, transfer any domain name, account for sales, and confirm in writing. Reserve rights. Attach the certificate if you have one. For a California registration, follow the delivery and sworn-statement format in the statute so the knowledge presumption attaches. (Bus. & Prof. Code, § 14245, subd. (a)(3).)

Leave out threats you will not carry out and claims you cannot prove. A letter that demands treble damages over a descriptive term reads as bluster to the lawyer on the other side.

The declaratory judgment risk

A letter that threatens suit can hand the recipient the first move. A business facing a concrete threat of infringement litigation may file its own action asking a federal court to declare that it does not infringe, and it can do that in its home district. The sender then litigates where the recipient chose. We weigh this before every letter. In some cases the right order is to file the complaint first and send it with the letter.

You received a cease and desist letter: the first week

Do not call the sender. Do not post about it. Preserve everything about your own use of the name, including when you started and the marketing you have run. Calendar the deadline, then look up the sender's registration and its history of enforcement. Pull your own first-use evidence. Then call a lawyer, before the deadline, not after.

Our general guide to receiving a demand letter covers insurance notice and litigation holds, which apply here too.

How to respond

There are four honest responses, and the facts pick one. Comply, if the mark is strong and your use is recent and small; a rebrand is cheaper than a suit. Negotiate, if there is room for coexistence: different markets, different trade channels, a disclaimer, or a license. Push back, if you used the name first, the marks are not that similar, or the term is descriptive; the response lays out the evidence and the defenses and asks the sender to withdraw. Or file first, where the threat is credible and the forum matters.

Silence is rarely the right answer. It costs you the chance to shape the dispute, and it makes the willfulness argument easier.

Where the dispute ends up

Most letters resolve without a filing. The ones that do not go to the Central District of California, in Santa Ana for Orange County and downtown for Los Angeles, on Lanham Act claims, or to the Superior Court on state trademark and unfair competition claims. (15 U.S.C. § 1121(a); Bus. & Prof. Code, § 17200.) A sender with a strong case may seek a preliminary injunction with the complaint. (15 U.S.C. § 1116(a).)

What to bring to the first meeting

The letter and its attachments. Your registration or application, if any. Dated proof of your first use and continuous use. Examples of the other side's mark in the market. Any prior correspondence between the companies. And a short account of how you picked your name.

Frequently asked questions

What is a trademark cease and desist letter?

A written demand from a trademark owner, or its lawyer, telling another business to stop using a confusingly similar name, logo, or design. It usually sets a deadline, demands written confirmation, and sometimes asks for an accounting of sales or a transfer of domain names. It is not a lawsuit and has no legal force on its own.

I received a cease and desist letter for trademark infringement. Do I have to respond?

No law requires a response. But the letter establishes that you knew of the claim, which matters if a court later considers willfulness and enhanced damages. (15 U.S.C. § 1117(a).) A reasoned response, within the deadline, is almost always the better course.

Can I ignore a cease and desist letter?

You can, but the sender's next step is usually a complaint, and your silence will be in it. If the claim is weak, say so in writing with the evidence. If it is strong, use the window to negotiate terms before a court is involved.

How long do I have to respond to a trademark cease and desist letter?

The deadline in the letter is set by the sender; ten to thirty days is common. It is not a legal deadline, and a short extension is often granted on request. Use the time to gather first-use evidence and get advice rather than letting it lapse.

Should I send a cease and desist letter before suing for trademark infringement?

Usually, yes. It is inexpensive, it often works, and it builds the willfulness record if it does not. The exceptions are cases where a seizure or a temporary restraining order is needed, and cases where the recipient is likely to file a declaratory judgment action in a distant forum first.

Talk to a California trademark litigation attorney

Whether you are sending a trademark cease and desist letter or holding one, call (909) 235-6116 or contact us online. Kolmogorov Law, P.C. is at 327 Magnet, Irvine, CA 92618, and represents businesses in Orange County, Los Angeles, and throughout California. See also our IP litigation page and our guide to sending a demand letter.

This page provides general information about federal and California trademark law and is not legal advice. Outcomes depend on the strength of the mark, the history of use, and the court.