Cease and desist
Cease-and-desist is a
legal term essentially meaning
stop: It is used in demands for a person or organization to permanently stop doing something (to
cease and desist from doing it).
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.
A cease-and-desist letter is a letter demanding that the recipient "cease and desist from" continuing certain behavior. The behavior in question can include publishing materials or making statements that the letter's sender considers
copyright infringement,
trademark infringement,
patent infringement,
slander, or
libel. The letter typically threatens legal action if the recipient continues to publish the materials in question or make statements similar to the ones in question. 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.
There have been criticisms from
civil liberties and
free speech groups that cease-and-desist letters are often 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 to engage in an expensive lawsuit. Such groups call this a
chilling effect on free speech.
In the US, a recipient of a cease-and-desist letter put in a "reasonable apprehension" of litigation may respond through a
declaratory judgment proceeding in their own
jurisdiction.
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. A temporary injunction against speech is known as
prior restraint.
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.
*
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.
*
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.
