Free Cease and Desist Letter Template

On or about March 1, 2025, you engaged in the following:

Your company has been reproducing and selling copies of my original photography and graphic design work on your website without permission, license, or attribution. These works were registered with the U.S. Copyright Office and are protected under federal copyright law.

Legal Basis. The foregoing conduct constitutes unauthorized use of my protected intellectual property in violation of (as applicable) the Copyright Act, 17 U.S.C. § 501 (and, where the work is hosted online, subject to the notice-and-takedown procedure of the Digital Millennium Copyright Act, 17 U.S.C. § 512); the Lanham Act, 15 U.S.C. §§ 1114 and 1125(a) (trademark infringement and unfair competition); and applicable state unfair-competition and common-law rights.

To the extent the conduct described involves the misappropriation of trade secrets, I additionally invoke the Defend Trade Secrets Act, 18 U.S.C. § 1836, and the applicable state Uniform Trade Secrets Act, and reserve the right to seek injunctive relief, actual and unjust-enrichment damages, exemplary damages, and reasonable attorney’s fees as provided by 18 U.S.C. § 1836(b)(3).

As a direct and proximate result of your unlawful conduct, I have suffered substantial damages in the amount of $5,000.00, all of which I reserve the right to seek full recovery of through appropriate legal proceedings.

You are hereby demanded to take the following actions immediately:

• Remove all infringing content from your website and social media accounts immediately
• Cease all sales and distribution of the copyrighted materials
• Provide written confirmation of compliance within the deadline specified

You are required to comply with the foregoing demands within 7 days from the date of this letter. Should you fail to do so, I will be left with no alternative but to:

• initiate civil litigation against you in a court of competent jurisdiction seeking all available compensatory, statutory, and punitive damages
• seek recovery of all attorney's fees, paralegal fees, court costs, and other litigation expenses incurred in connection with this matter
• seek an emergency temporary restraining order and/or preliminary injunction to immediately halt your conduct without further notice

This is not an idle threat. I am fully prepared to pursue all available legal remedies without further notice or delay.

You are hereby on notice that you have an immediate and ongoing legal duty to preserve all evidence related to this matter. This includes, without limitation, all emails, text messages, social media communications, documents, records, photographs, videos, and any other materials - whether in digital or physical form - that are relevant to the conduct described in this letter. Any destruction, alteration, concealment, or loss of such evidence - whether intentional or negligent - constitutes spoliation of evidence and may result in severe court-ordered sanctions, including adverse inference instructions at trial, dismissal of defenses, and separate civil or criminal liability under applicable federal and state law. You must immediately suspend any routine document destruction or retention policies and take all steps necessary to preserve potentially relevant evidence.

In addition to the foregoing, I demand that you provide written confirmation of your compliance with these demands within the 7-day period specified above. Specifically, you must sign, date, and return the acknowledgment section at the end of this letter confirming that you have ceased all prohibited conduct and will not resume such conduct. Your failure to provide this written assurance will itself be treated as evidence of your continued non-compliance and willful disregard of this demand.

This matter is governed by the laws of the State of Oregon, and I reserve all legal rights and remedies available under applicable federal and state law without limitation. Personal jurisdiction over you, to the extent contested, is asserted under the long-arm statute of the State of Oregon and the minimum-contacts framework of International Shoe Co. v. Washington, 326 U.S. 310 (1945).